


Forgotten Chocolate

by Amoralyn



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Rejection, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-02-24 01:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2563586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amoralyn/pseuds/Amoralyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your homemade chocolates rejected by the one you like on Valentine's Day, you cry alone on your school's roof. Suddenly, a handsome classmate appears, and changes your Valentine's Day in unexpected and dramatic ways.</p><p> (Reader x Various Kuroko no Basket Character One-Shots)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rejection

You were sitting cross-legged on the floor of your school’s roof, looking down at the heart-shaped box you had clutched in your trembling hands. You slowly pulled the plain red box top off, and wiped the tears spilling from your (e/c) eyes as you looked inside.

Nestled inside was a milk chocolate heart, decorated with candies and swirls of dark, milk, and white chocolate. It was cute and colourful, if a little chaotic, and alone must have taken hours. Surrounding it were different chocolate covered treats, including marshmallows, fruits, and candies. You’d worked incredibly hard on it, and this morning you had been immensely proud of the homemade Valentine’s Day chocolates you’d made. You’d walked to school cradling the large box with a huge smile on your face, and a light spring in your step.

All that had changed a few minutes ago, when the boy you liked met you up here…only to reject your chocolates.

He hadn’t even looked inside the box you had tried to hand to him. He’d simply shaken his head.

“I’m sorry, (l/n)-chan, but I don’t like you like that. I could never date a girl like you. I can’t accept this,” was all your crush said before he turned and left, leaving you heartbroken on the empty roof. Too humiliated to follow him, you’d sat down on the roof, whiling away the time until the bell for the end of lunch rang. After that you’d be forced to return to class and try not to cry as your friends cheerfully asked you how your chocolate giving had gone.

You sighed deeply, running a hand through your (h/c) hair as you looked down at your first ever Valentine’s chocolates, made for your first ever big crush. Just as you were about to put the lid back on, you heard the door to the roof open behind you…


	2. Bittersweet --- Hanamiya Makoto

_“From now on, only make chocolate for me. Only cry for me. Only love me. If you don’t, I’ll punish you so sweetly you’ll never forget who you belong to.”_

\---

“Oh?”

You looked behind you at the stranger’s sudden expression of surprise. Kicking the door closed behind him, Hanamiya Makoto, the bad boy of the school, approached you. His amber eyes were looking down at the heart shaped box lid still in your hand, before they flicked up to meet yours directly. You quickly tried to wipe your tears away, struggling to ignore the shiver running through your spine as he stepped in front of you.

“Mmm… it’s odd to see a girl crying when I haven’t caused it…” Hanamiya smirked, as he sat on the ground in front of you. He placed his lunch bag beside him, and settled in for what looked like a long stay.

“You must have gotten rejected. Poor thing,” he clicked his tongue in false sympathy as you turned your face away from him, cheeks burning in embarrassment and anger. You struggled to put the cover in your hand back on so you could go, but before you could Hanamiya grabbed the box of chocolates from your hand.

“My…but is it possible for someone to reject chocolates like these?” Hanamiya seemed oddly excited, and his eyes seemed to gleam as he examined the chocolates you’d made. Your hands, moving to grab the box back, froze in mid-air as you saw how genuinely interested he looked in your chocolates. You’d only seen Hanamiya a few times around school, and his expression was always either one of complete and utter boredom, or a sadistic arrogance. You’d never seen this face of his, and to be honest…it was kinda cute.

Suddenly, he picked up one of your chocolate covered candies and popped it into his mouth. His eyes opened wide. “It tastes amazing too…Definitely homemade. I’m quite impressed, (f/n)-chan. I didn’t think you were capable of something like this,” he smirked at you, popping another chocolate into his mouth and sucking his fingers.

“Ah…Hanamiya…-san,” you cried, almost too surprised to speak, “You…you’re eating all the chocolates I made! Stop it! Haven’t you eaten enough chocolate today already?! You must’ve received better ones than mine, so leave them alone!”

Hanamiya paused his plundering of the box for a moment, looking up at you as the side of his mouth twitched in irritation. You’d definitely hit a nerve with that last comment.

“I wasn’t given any chocolate today,” he said flatly, before he continued to eat. You opened your mouth to protest again, when Hanamiya abruptly pushed a chocolate covered strawberry between your lips.

“Quiet. I want to enjoy (f/n)-chan’s delicious chocolates in peace,” He grinned, and his expression seemed to soften slightly. You put a hand on your cheek to try and cover your blush, and you realised it wasn’t wet anymore. You hadn’t even realised that you’d stopped crying a while ago. Somehow, Hanamiya Makoto had really comforted you. You actually smiled slightly as you finished eating the chocolate strawberry, savouring the sweet taste.

“I suppose it’s nice someone will enjoy my chocolate today,” You said quietly, as you picked up another chocolate fruit. As the minutes went by, you felt yourself becoming happy and relaxed, just sitting there with Hanamiya Makoto and finishing off the chocolates surrounding the large heart in the center. Just as he was about to pick the chocolate heart up, a shrill bell rang, warning that lunch was ending in five minutes.

“I’d better start heading back. If I’m late again, I’ll get a detention,” You said as you stood up. Dusting yourself off, you ignored Hanamiya’s derisive snort at your words.

“It was…nice having lunch with you. Thank you for making me feel better, Hanamiya-san,” You said gratefully, giving him a quick bow before turning to leave. You opened the roof door to leave, when it was suddenly slammed shut from behind you by a large hand. You spun around suddenly to see Hanamiya towering above you, the hand not keeping the door closed occupied with holding the chocolate heart. He examined it thoughtfully for a moment, twisting it with his fingers, before turning his attention back to you.

“I really liked your chocolate, (f/n)-chan. I want to have it again,” Hanamiya leaned down, his face inches from yours. Your eyes widened, and your breath quickened as you felt your cheeks turn red again. Your reaction seemed to please him, and he leaned even closer so his mouth was near your ear.

“Next year…make sure your chocolate goes to me, and me only. I won’t accept anything else,” he whispered into your ear. You gasped at the sensation of his breath against your skin, and he chuckled quietly. “And in return, I’ll make sure no boy ever makes you cry again…except me, of course.”

He pulled away, removing his hand on the door to pet your head affectionately, before he turned to walk back to his lunch and the now empty box of chocolates. “I’ll see you later, (f/n)-chan! Make sure you’re not late to class! Wouldn’t want you in detention, right?” he exclaimed cheerfully, already taking a large bite of the chocolate heart.

Fumbling with the doorknob, you finally managed to open the door and leave the roof. Your face was a bright red and your eyes still wide, and you walked through the halls in a semi-daze. You walked back to class in a daze, barely hearing the laughter of your classmates in your starstruck state. Only one thought ran through your mind.

I can’t wait for next Valentine’s Day.


	3. Sweet Tooth --- Murasakibara Atsushi

_“Stop crying. I don’t like it. I only ever want to see your smiling face. Sweets are the best, and your smile is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”  
_    
“…Ah, I thought the roof would be empty.”  
  
A bored voice came from behind you. You turned to look up at the boy coming through the door, only to see his arms laden with bags filled with snack foods. You had to crane your neck even higher to look at the boy’s face. With an annoyed face, he looked down at you with the eyes of a petulant child through his long purple hair.  
  
“I wanted to get away from all the annoying girls fussing over Valentine’s Day. So noisy,” he muttered, continuing to glare at you. He let out a tortured sigh, and stepped forwards to step around you and eat his lunch further away.  
  
“…Uh?” he balked in surprise, his expression changing to one of confusion as he moved to go past you. You realised more tears were streaming down your face, and you hurriedly wiped them away while you turned your face from the boy. “I’m sorry. Please don’t worry about me, I’ll let you eat your lunch in peace,” you said quietly. You would have left, but you weren’t very eager to face the happy, love-struck girls in the school either.  
  
“Annoying…” the boy mumbled, before he plopped down on the ground in front of you. Realising you’d still have to crane your neck to look at his face, he snorted in irritation and moved to lie on his side, supporting his head with a large hand.  
  
“Let’s eat lunch together then. I don’t like seeing pretty girls cry,” he intoned, as he grabbed and unwrapped a candy bar from his bag. He didn’t look so irritated anymore, and was even eyeing your chocolate with some interest. You blushed unexpectedly, and wiped your eyes again. “Thank you…” you responded shyly. “My name is (l/n) (f/n). What’s yours?” You had seen the incredibly tall boy many times around school (he was pretty hard to miss) but you’d never actually learned his name.  
  
“Murasakibara Atsushi, (l/n)-chin,” Murasakibara replied lazily, his eyes still fixed on your chocolates. He seemed to have completely forgotten the candy already in his hand, or the rest of the sweets and snacks that apparently made up his lunch.  
  
“Here, Murasakibara-kun,” you held out the box of chocolates to him. “Have these chocolates. It would be nice to see someone enjoy them today.”  
  
He looked at the box with even more consideration, but then looked back to you inquisitively. “Are you sure? Aren’t girls supposed to only give these chocolates to the boy they like?” he asked, turning his attention back to the box once again.  
  
“Um…the boy I tried to give these to…rejected them, so if you don’t eat them, they’ll probably go to waste…” you responded, laughing awkwardly to try and hide how much you wanted to start crying again. Murasakibara looked back at you, before taking the box and giving you the opened candy bar. “Here. We’ll trade. (l/n)-chin deserves a nice present to,” he stated before starting to munch on the chocolate treats.  
  
You gave him a surprised thanks as you slowly took the candy bar, and looked down at it for a moment before reluctantly taking a bite. It was overly sweet and a bit salty, but it still made you smile. You and Murasakibara spent the rest of the lunch period together in a relaxed atmosphere. After you finished the candy bar you started asking Murasakibara about himself, and he usually responded through mouthfuls of your chocolate. You weren’t surprised to find out he was on the basketball team, nor that he really, _really_ loved sweets. Your conversations were light and airy, and you even found yourself laughing when Murasakibara complained about walking home, since crows were now hanging around his route home. “They make weird noises,” he protested, pouting indignantly at how hard you were laughing.  
  
Just as Murasakibara had completely finished your box of chocolates, a bell rang, warning that lunch was ending soon. Murasakibara rubbed his ears in annoyance, disliking the sudden shrill sound, and you covered your mouth to stop yourself from laughing again. Was it really possible for someone as tall and lanky as Murasakibara to be so cute?  
  
“Mura-kun. Thank you very much for having lunch with me, it was really fun!” You smiled brightly at him.  
  
He smiled lazily. “You’re welcome, (l/n)-chin…thanks for the chocolates, they were really good...”  
  
Suddenly, an odd expression crossed his face. Sitting up, he suddenly pushed his face right up to yours, looking at you very closely. You felt your face turn red, but before you could ask him what we was doing, he leaned even closer.  
  
Without warning, he ran his tongue gently up your cheek. Your blush from before was nothing compared to now, and you stumbled backwards as fast as you could, bumbling to your feet.  
  
“M—M---M-M—Mura---!” you stuttered in complete shock, unable to believe what had just transpired. You put a hand on your chest to steady your rapidly beating heart as Murasakibara leaned back on his hands, looking back up at you curiously.  
  
“(l/n)-chin had such a sweet expression on her face…I wanted to see if she tasted just as sweet…” he yawned, scratching his head lazily. “Nnn…but honestly, I prefer (l/n)-chin’s chocolates …” he mumbled, seemingly to himself. Your heart started beating even faster, if that was possible, as you stared at him incredulously. Was he…serious? Making fun of you? Teasing? It isn’t like you really disliked it, but…  
  
“I—I have to go, sorry. I can’t be late for class. A—Again, thanks for having lunch with me Mura-kun! Let’s do it again sometime!” you called out as you turned and ran for the door, trying to cover your embarrassed face.  
  
Before you left, you heard Murasakibara chuckle quietly.  
  
“Still…(l/n)-chin is really sweet…I wanna taste her again…”


	4. Monkeybread --- Okamura Kenichi

_“You’re incredible…beautiful, kind, and when you smile at me I feel like I can take on the world. When I’m with you, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. I want to be with you forever!”  
_  

\---

“Ugh.  So many happy couples, so many guys getting chocolates from their girlfriends…guess it’s a solitary roof lunch for me…”  
  
The depressed mutterings came from the man walking through the open door, a lunch bag swung over his shoulder as he looked dejectedly at the ground.  He closed the door behind him, sighed, and stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on you.  
  
You both stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. “Uh…” he finally broke the silence, looking away from you and rubbing his neck uneasily. “If you’re waiting for someone, I can leave, I mean—”  
  
He broke off abruptly, and you felt tears running down your face…he must have just noticed you were crying. You wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to look more uncomfortable, but lo and behold. You smile gingerly as you wipe your tears away.  
  
“Please don’t mind me. I just…don’t want to go back down there yet either,” you sniffed, as you turned back to look at the box in your hands.  
  
“No way I could leave you crying,” you hear him say quietly behind you, before he steps forward and sits cross-legged right beside you. “My name is Okamura Kenichi. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”  
  
He reaches a powerful hand towards you, and you shake it uncertainly. Despite the size of his hand, his grip is surprisingly gentle. “My name is (l/n) (f/n). It’s a pleasure to meet you to, Okamura-kun,” you reply. Your eyes suddenly widen as something occurs to you. “Ah! Okamura-kun--I recognise that name! Aren’t you the captain of our basketball team?”  
  
He nods, and his cheeks turn a little red at your words. However he seems to be pleased, as his chest puffed up to an even bigger size in pride, clearly happy a girl is familiar with him. You tap your lips thoughtfully.  
  
“But in that case…you’re a third year. Shouldn’t I call you Okamura-senpai? Or…just senpai?” You ask, looking up at him inquisitively.  
  
Immediately his face turns a dark shade of red, and he covers his jaw with his hand as he turns away. “N—No, please, just Okamura-kun is fine. Please don’t call me senpai,” he pleaded with you, still not looking at you in the eye. “Jeez, my heart can’t take something that cute…”  
  
You let out a muffled snort of laughter, and his face turns even darker realising you heard what he just said. You cover your own mouth to stop yourself from laughing anymore. Okamura may be a bit awkward, but he is making you feel better.  
  
Trying to change the conversation as quickly as possible, Okamura asks you about your own club activities. Then your hobbies, favourite movies and books, things you didn’t like, etc. He really seemed to be interested in you and, you had to admit, you were very interested in him to. You asked him a question for every one he asked you, and as lunch time neared its end you couldn’t help but feel a lot closer to the man beside you.  
  
As the conversation came to a lull, Okamura finally commented on the box of chocolate in your hands. “Hey (l/n)-chan, those are really amazing chocolates! Did you make them yourself?” he asked excitedly.  
  
“Oh! Yes, I made them myself. It was a lot of work, but…” you trail off, and the happy expression that had lit up your face since Okamura started sitting beside you turned into a sombre one. Okamura looked at you worriedly, so you quickly flashed him a fake smile and explained that the boy you had tried to give them to had rejected them…or, more specifically, you.  
  
You look back up to Okamura and are extremely surprised to see he’s practically frozen in anger, looking straight ahead of himself, away from you. Before you can ask what’s wrong, he opens his mouth.  
  
“What the hell?! This guy has gotta be a total moron! How the hell could he reject chocolates a girl made specially for him?” he yelled heatedly, “If a girl ever offered me chocolates like these I’d _cry_ with joy!”  
  
A moment passed, and Okamura seemed to realise what he’d just said. Turning to you, where you were covering the ear closest to him with your hand because of how loud he was, his face turned red again. As you start to stand up, he begins apologising profusely, probably thinking you were going to leave. Instead, you stepped in front of him and, bowing your head slightly, held out the box of chocolates to him.  
  
“Okamura-kun, please accept these chocolates. It would make me really happy to see someone enjoy them so much, especially someone as kind as you!” You replied, speaking as passionately as he had. You could definitely understand why he was captain of the basketball team. You’d never met someone with such a surprising intensity, one that really fired you up!  
  
Okamura looks shocked, but he quickly stumbled to his feet. “I…I would be…happy to accept them, (l/n)-chan. Thank you,” he replied, gently taking the box as if you were going to pull it back at any second. Even holding the box in his hands, he looked down at it like he couldn’t quite believe it.  
  
Suddenly, a bell rings, signalling that lunch was nearing its end.  
  
“Thank you, Okamura-kun. I really poured my heart into these chocolates, and I’m glad they’re with someone who will appreciate them,” You said, smiling brightly at him. “Our class is running a stall in the school festival next week. Please come by! Maybe after I finish helping out, we can enjoy the rest of the festival together.”  
  
Okamura manages a small nod. You give him a short wave as you head for the door, although you stop just before you walk through. You turn back to Okamura, giving him a small, innocent smile.  
  
“And next year…I’ll be sure to make my chocolates specially for you! …Senpai…” You said softly, as you blow him a kiss goodbye. You see Okamura blush darker than ever before, and you can’t help but laugh as you head down the stairs.  
  
You never could have imagined teasing someone could be so fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the continuation of this story in its sequel, Save The Date!


	5. Sleep Sweet --- Seto Kentarō

_“Mmm…sleeping on you is really nice…just don’t be thinking of some other guy while I’m out, make sure all your attention is on me…and if you need to wake me up, I’ll only accept it if you do it with a kiss.”  
_

_\---_

_  
_“What the hell? Even the roof is occupied?”  
  
Kentarō Seto, a boy you recognised from his slicked back hair as being in your year, narrowed his eyes in annoyance the second he saw you. “Shouldn’t you be down there, squealing and jumping around because the guy you unloaded your chocolate onto waited till you left the room to throw it away?” he declared snidely. Before you could respond, he cut you off with a wave of his hand and continued. “Whatever, I don’t care. The school is going insane and this is the only place I can sleep in peace. I don’t give a shit what you’re doing, just keep it down.”  
  
Pulling a sleep mask out of his pocket, he walked over to the furthest point of the roof from you and settled in for a nap.  
  
You put your hand over your mouth, trying to stifle the sound of you crying. There was no way you could have stopped it after that tirade. He didn’t seem to realise that you wished you were in the school, laughing and bouncing with your friends because your crush accepted your chocolate. Unfortunately, it looks like neither you nor Seto were going to have the Valentine’s Day you’d hoped for.  
  
This went on for a minute or so, before you heard an irritated sigh and you looked up to see Seto push his sleep mask up, muttering “might as well, never gonna be able to sleep like this,” and walking towards you.  
  
“Look. I can’t sleep with you crying like this. What’s your deal?” he asked, as he lay down in front of you. Flat on his back, he turned his head up towards you.  
  
“I’m sorry about that, I’ll try to be quieter---” you started before being interrupted once again by Seto.  
  
“That’s obviously not gonna work. Either tell me what’s wrong or leave the roof,” He said, yawning.  
  
Leaving the roof is something you want to put off as long as possible…so why not, ‘might as well’ explain. “I made these chocolates for a boy I like, and he rejected me,” You responded unhappily.  
  
“Is that all?” Seto snorts, as he sits up to look at you. His words are still harsh, but he says them with a slightly kinder face. His expression softens even further when he sees the chocolates in the box. “Those do look pretty nice…and homemade to? You must have worked hard for this guy,” he speaks to you in a more gentle tone. You nod at him briskly, and you can feel yourself tearing up again. Before you really start to cry, Seto ruffles your hair. “Stop it. If it means ending this noisy crying, I’ll accept the damn chocolates.”  
  
“No, that’s not necessary. I’m sure I can stop crying on my own,” You assured him, but even as you were speaking tears were running down your cheeks. You rubbed them quickly, embarrassed.  
  
Seto rubbed his temples in irritation, clearly at the end of his rope with you. “Fine,” he said, “Then we’ll make another trade. I’ll take your chocolates and you be my pillow.”  
  
Taking advantage of your stunned silence following his offer, he took the box and swung his body around so his head rested in your lap.  
  
“Good. Now stay like this,” he muttered as he pulled his sleep mask down, while grabbing a chocolate from the box and popping it into his mouth. You were still kind of stunned, but you slowly decide that this…isn’t so bad. Still, you’d like to know at least a few things about the man using your lap as a pillow.  
  
“Um…your name is Seto-san, right?”  
  
You receive a wordless nod in reply.  
  
“So…what do you do for fun, Seto-san?”  
  
“Sleep.”  
  
“Oh…kay…are you in any clubs?”  
  
“Basketball.”  
  
“What kind of music do you like?”  
  
“What the--- will you shut up? I’m trying to sleep and eat these chocolates. I don’t even _like_ chocolates. For the last time, keep quiet.”  
  
He finished his tirade by popping another chocolate into his mouth, leaving you more confused than ever. “What do you mean you don’t like chocolate?” you asked him incredulously.  
  
“It’s what I said. It’s too sweet, and it melts all over your hand. I don’t like it, but I want to eat yours, so shut up and _let me enjoy it in peace_.”  
  
You feel yourself blushing, and decide to stay quiet for now. You both sit there for a while longer, and he eventually stops eating the chocolates and begins to snore loudly. You cover your mouth to keep from laughing at how such a proud man could make such undignified sounds in his sleep. Just then, a bell rang, signalling that lunch would be ending shortly.  
  
Incredibly, Seto was such a deep sleeper that even this didn’t wake him. He was definitely an…interesting guy, if not extremely rough around the edges. “Seto-san…thank you. You helped me stop crying and…really made my Valentine’s Day better. I truly hope we meet again,” You speak as softly as you can, and shyly stroke his forehead before you gently take his head off your lap and put it in on the ground. You’re just getting up when you hear him grunt and start to shift around. You pull your jacket off and, folding it up, slide it under his head. He settles down, and goes back to his snoring. You have to muffle your laughter again, as you quietly turn and leave the roof.  
  
Once the door slams shut, and the sound of your footsteps on the stairs fade away, Seto’s snoring stops abruptly. He lifts his head and pulls his sleep mask up, grabbing the jacket you left under him. He fiddles with his lazily for it a bit, before pulling up a tag where your name is messily written. Seto chuckles haughtily. He pulls down his mask again, and moves the jacket back to under his head.  
  
“Don’t worry (l/n) (f/n). I’ll be seeing you again real soon.”


	6. Lightning Honey —- Hayama Kotarou

_“Haha! No way I can stop kissing you! You’re just too cute! Ah, but don’t think that just because I love you, I’ll let you call me anything but senpai. If you do, I’ll have to teach my disrespectful kōhai a lesson ~”_   
  


\---

“Whaaa? No way! Someone else came up here for lunch to!”  
  
Bursting through the door, the blonde boy smiled brightly when he saw you. He walks quickly, stopping to stand across from you. “I’m so happy~ I was looking for someone to talk to! Everyone else is so busy with Valentine’s Day,” he beamed cheerfully.  
  
“But…if you were looking for someone to talk to, why did you come to the roof? It’s usually empty…” you ask curiously.  
  
His smile falters and his eyes narrow slightly. The quiet that follows your question sends a shiver down your spine, but just as you’re getting uncomfortable the boy’s happy expression returns. “Hey, what are you doing up here?” he asks, dropping down on the ground in front of you. He scoots up so you are both extremely close.  
  
You stare at him for a moment, completely blown away by his manic energy. You don’t even realise that, although he must have noticed you crying, he’s saying nothing about it. “Ah…well, I made these chocolates for a guy, but he—-” you started, before immediately being interrupted by the hyper teenager.  
  
“No waaay!! You made these yourself?! They look so cool!” he gushed over your chocolates excitedly. “That’s so amazing, and homemade to!  
Hey, why don’t you give them to me? I only ever get obligation chocolates, I’d really love to receive some homemade!”  
  
One again his energy leaves you almost speechless. “Uh…um, sure, here you go…” you reply as you hand him the box. He accepts them immediately, showering them with even more compliments. You smile slightly, but you can still feel tears on your cheek. As you move your hand up to wipe them, the boy suddenly grabs your sleeve. “Ah! I totally forgot to introduce myself! My name is Hayama Kotarou! I think I recognise you…you’re in the same year as Akashi, right?” Hayama says energetically, slowly letting go of your sleeve.  
  
“Y—Yes, my name is (l/n) (f/f). It’s nice to meet you, Hayama-kun,” You reply softly. You smile at him, but suddenly his own smile disappears. His grim expression from before returned, and he leans in closer to you.  
  
“Hey…even a cute girl like you won’t get away with using –kun with my name. Always use senpai, or I’ll get mad,” he demanded coolly.  
  
“Ah! I’m so sorry!” you exclaimed, causing his head to jerk back suddenly in surprise. “You’re right, senpai. Ah, Hayama-senpai. I promise I won’t forget again!”  
  
Shocked for a moment, his face brightens immediately, even blushing a little. “Ha, it’s fine, (l/n)! When you apologise like that I can’t help but forgive you~” he grinned. “So! Tell me more about you! What kind of stuff do you like?”  
  
Hayama wasn’t joking about learning more about you. He’d ask you a question, eating a chocolate while you answered, and he ate so fast by the time you finished talking he was ready with another question. This goes on for a while, and before you know it you’re laughing at how eager he is.  
  
“Hey Hayama-senpai, can I ask you some questions now? I’m really curious about a guy with so much energy…I want to know ‘watt’ your deal is,” you grin playfully at your own joke.  
  
Hayama bursts out laughing, barely avoiding falling over. “Woooowwww (l/n), that’s a really bad one! If you promise not to make a joke again, I’ll answer whatever you want,” he chuckles.  
  
“Fiiiine. So, what kinds of things do you like, Senpai?” you ask, tilting your head curiously.  
  
His eyes open wide quickly, like a kid who just walked into a candy store. “Basketball! You know Rakuzan basketball team has won the most tournaments, right? They call us the oldest and strongest king, because of how amazing we all are!” Hayama shouted, somehow even more energetic than before. “Of course the practices are super difficult, but we all work really hard! We have to, to stay so good!” he pauses for a moment to breathe, and puffs up his chest in pride. “I’m really amazing at basketball too, (l/n)! I was an Uncrowned King in middle school, but now I’m on par with the Generation of Miracles! Isn’t that incredible?!”  
  
Despite getting a little lost in what he was saying, you have to laugh at how cute he is. “Hayama-senpai, you really are extraordinary. I’ll have to start going to our basketball games now, they sound pretty incredible,” you giggle.  
  
“Yeah! They are! Everyone on our team is really amazing! Ah, but you’ll cheer for me right?!” he asks you, leaning closer again.  
  
His energy is infectious, and you nod vigorously. “Yeah! Oh course I will, Hayama-sen—”  
  
You’re interrupted by Hayama, who suddenly presses his lips against yours. You’re so surprised, all you can really think of is that fact that he tastes like chocolate. There’s a moment of silence before your face starts turning red, and as Hayama pulled away you see that his is too.  
“Ah! I—I’m really sorry, (l/n)! I get carried away sometimes! I’m really really sorry! Please don’t hate me now!” Hayama cries, looking more and more upset. “Outside of my team I don’t have a lot of really close friends because I’m so hyper and people find me annoying but you like talking to me so please—”  
  
“Hayama-senpai, please calm down! It’s really okay, please don’t worry!” you interrupt him, waving your hands in front of you. You take a deep breath and look away from him, tugging at your hair shyly. “It…it wasn’t bad or anything…but maybe don’t do it again…it was kind of embarrassing…”  
   
Hayama breathes a long sigh of relief, and gives you a slight smile, nodding. “Thank you! I’m really glad. You’re a really great person, you know-” the rest of his words are drowned out by the warning bell ringing.  
  
“Oh, that’s my cue to leave. Sorry Hayama-senpai, but I can’t be late for class. My teacher is really strict, and love to give detentions.” you explain as you stand up. “It was really fun talking to you! I hope we meet again.”  
  
Hayama nods enthusiastically, standing up with you. “Yeah, definitely! Let’s meet after school! We can walk home together!” he exclaims. His enthusiasm makes you laugh so much you can only nod in agreement.  
   
“Excellent! Alright, I’ll meet you at the front gate, don’t forget!” Hayama pumps his fist excitedly. “Alright, I wanna finish eating this chocolate, so I’m gonna stay behind.”  
  
You nod again, and then hesitate for a moment. He looks at you curiously when you suddenly hug him tightly.  
  
“Hayama-senpai, thank you very much for comforting me. I was so sad before, but you really made my Valentine’s Day special!” you proclaim loudly. Hayama doesn’t say anything and, after a little while, it gets really awkward. You quickly pull away from him, blushing. “So…thanks again! See you later! Bye!” you turn and run towards the door.  
  
Just as the door is closing, you hear Hayama mumbling behind you.  
  
“Ahhh…I should have tried to kiss her again~”


	7. Hidden Delight —- Mayuzumi Chihiro

_“In basketball I’m supposed to be a shadow. A ghost. I was content to be invisible off the court as well…but I couldn’t stand it if you didn’t see me. If you ever fail to notice me, I’ll make sure it never happens again.”_

__\---  
  
“…”  
  
You never imagined absolute silence could ever make you physically feel something. Yet the door had been only open a few seconds, and already you started to shiver as the icy silence spread throughout the rooftop. There was a slight clang as the door slowly fell shut, and after that nothing. You slowly turn around to see a grey haired boy behind you…Chihiro Mayuzumi, the ghost of Rakuzan. He’s glaring at you with a flat displeasure that just makes you shudder more.  
  
“…It’s not enough to take over the library? You have to embrace this nonsense on the roof too?” He sneers at you. You could feel his disgust for this holiday, and the people who celebrated it, practically radiating off of him.  
  
“…I’m sorry, I—”  
  
“Was rejected. Yes.” He states, walking around and stopping to stand in front of you. His flat eyes watch you condescendingly. “That’s quite obvious.”  
  
His eyes flick down to the box in your hands and they widen slightly. “…Hmm. But at least your chocolates are well made. You should be proud of them.” He looks back up at you with a slight appreciation. “Why are you upset because someone else couldn’t appreciate them?”  
You stare up at him, your mouth hanging open as you try and think of how to respond. What are you supposed to say? How do you explain the pain of being rejected to a person who seems to reject everyone around them?  
  
“Eat the chocolates yourself. Enjoy them. Take care of your own happiness, because no one else will.” he states blankly.  
  
“…I don’t believe that. That’s why I wanted to make someone else happy today. And…I really thought my crush was a good person to do it for…” you sighed, running a hand through your hair.  
  
“There is always someone better.” Mayuzumi put a hand on his side and tilts his head upwards. For someone who enjoys not being seen, he is quite remarkable at projecting arrogance.  
  
“…Of course. I know that. There’s a person like that standing in front of me right now.” You say carefully. Mayuzumi turns his face away, but you still see him watching you intently. You can tell he’s pleased.  
  
“Mayuzumi-san.” You start, noting his surprise at your saying his name. “You’re on our basketball team, right? One of the greatest teams in Japan. You’re on the main team, along with the first year captain and that huge muscular guy who always eats heaps of food in the cafeteria. I’ve never seen you play, but I know you must be incredible.”  
  
Mayuzumi has dropped his arrogant expression completely, and now wears one of total shock. He turns away again, clearly embarrassed. “You’ve…noticed me.” he mutters, covering his mouth with his hand.  
  
“…I see you a lot when you read. I share your taste in light novels…I’ve seen you reading many of my favourites.” You admit, as you lean back to look up at him.  
  
Mayuzumi is still standing over you, but the icy atmosphere that had surrounded him when he entered the roof is gone. If anything, it felt a little…warm. “What about this one? Have you read it?” Mayuzumi asks as he motions to the book in his hand.  
  
You shake your head, but ask about the book. Then, you both start conversing about the books you have read. You discuss your favourites, the ones you hates so much you couldn’t finish reading, the ones so unremarkable you barely remember reading them…Mayuzumi ends up sitting down finally, although still a fair distance away from you, and you talk for the entire lunch period. Well, you mostly talk. Mayuzumi is clearly still guarded around you, but he’s very intelligent and you look forward to the rare times he chooses to voice his opinion.  
  
All too soon, the bell rings, and decrees that this Valentine’s Day lunch is coming to an end. You stand up slowly, stretching your legs. “…Mayuzumi-san,” you say, pulling his attention away from your legs. “Thank you for spending your lunch with me. I know it wasn’t what you wanted to do today, but you really made me feel better.”  
  
You look at the box of chocolates in your hands, and hold it out to him. “I still don’t believe that the only one who will care about our happiness is ourselves. But I think I should care about the happiness of someone better. Mayuzumi-san, please accept this.”  
  
His eyes stare at the box flatly before turning back to you. “I also told you to enjoy the fruits of your own labour.” he says taciturnly.  
“I am. I’m giving the fruits of my labour to someone who comforted me. Someone who helped me recover from a painful rejection, even though he didn’t understand why I was upset in the first place.” You smile happily. “I’m giving my chocolates to someone whose happiness I care about.”  
  
Mayuzumi stares at you for a while before he takes the box and completely turns his face away. It’s futile, since you can still see the slight red that’s spreading up his cheeks. You sense that showing any amusement at this would be a very, very bad idea.  
  
“…You’re better than him too.” he mutters, still not looking at you. “I spend a lot of my lunch periods at the library. I…would not object to you joining me, on occasion.” he says, louder this time, and finishes by opening his book and holding it up to his face.  
  
You nod at him amicably, and turn to walk out of the door. You don’t even realise his eyes are following you, even after you walk through the door.  
  
Once he’s sure you’re gone, he puts the book down. He stares at the box of chocolate in his right hand, while his left moves over his heart.  
  
For a ghost, his heart is beating exceptionally hard.


	8. Sweet Poison - Imayoshi Shouichi |Part One|

_“It’s too bad you were so cruelly rejected, but don’t worry. I’ll make it better. Just do everything I say and you’ll never have to worry about anyone else hurting you…mmm, except for me, of course.”_

__

\---

“Mmm? My my…so this is the girl he was going on about.”  
  
Walking through the door was Imayoshi Shoichi, well known as being the former captain of your school’s elite basketball team. You looked up at him in surprise, and opened your mouth to ask him what in the world he was doing here. However, before you could say a word, he answered your question.  
  
“I overhead one of the juniors talking about leaving a heartbroken girl on the roof. I couldn’t just stand by and leave a young girl in distress.” He makes a sad face. “Poor thing.”  
  
You look up at him, blinking in surprise. Imayoshi’s tone is exceedingly polite, and his face looks genuinely concerned. His words also appear perfectly well mannered. Yet his presence gives you an odd feeling. It’s almost like he’s giving off an air of condescendence, and it makes you feel every word he speaks is secretly mocking you.  
  
“To be rejected by someone you adore so much, and on Valentine’s Day…just terrible.” he says forlornly, as he sits down beside you. “What’s your name?”  
  
Despite your suspicions, it’s hard for you to truly distrust Imayoshi. His face, with a gentle expression, leans closer to yours, and you swallow nervously before answering.  
  
“My name is…(l/n) (f/n).” you say slowly, looking at him from the corner of your eye timidly. “You’re Imayoshi-senpai, correct?”  
  
“Yes, that’s right. I’m happy you recognise me.” Imayoshi smiles. It leaves a shiver up your spine, as if there is something predatory about it.  
  
“(L/n).” He interrupts your thoughts smoothly. “You have such a pretty face. I hate that you’re ruining it by crying so hard.” He leans even closer to you. “To make you feel better, I’ll accept your chocolates.”  
  
You’re surprised by his sudden offer, but you quickly shake your head. “Thank you, Imayoshi-senpai, but that’s not necessary,” you reply politely. You still can’t shake the feeling that’s he’s playing with you.  
  
Imayoshi leans back abruptly, looking a bit surprised. For a moment you think you see his mouth twitch in annoyance, but if he was irritated he hid it remarkably quickly.  
  
“Ah (l/n), don’t be so impersonal.” He laughs lightly. He puts his head on his hand, still watching you fixedly. “I have an idea. Why don’t we play a little game?”  
  
Although you’re still a little wary of him, you can’t help but be intrigued. And his words themselves sound innocent enough. “What kind of game?” you ask cautiously. You have to at least make sure it’s a game no one can cheat at.  
  
“A classic. Rock-Paper-Scissors.” Imayoshi explains, pleased at your interest. “We’ll play ten games. If I win the majority, you’ll present the chocolates to me, as a Valentine’s Day gift. And if I win all…” he pauses, and the predatory smile returns to his face. “Then I’ll get an extra special prize from you.”  
  
“And if I win? What do I get?” you ask resolutely.  
  
Imayoshi can barely hide his shock at your question, and he covers his mouth as if to stifle laughter. You can’t help but feel he never even considered the possibility, and you pout in annoyance.  
  
“Relax.” he insists, noticing your expression, “If you win all the games, or even just the majority, you get to demand whatever you want as your prize.” He uncovers his mouth to reveal his good-natured smile once more.  
  
“Ask for anything you want. I promise not to disappoint.” He continues, and you feel yourself blushing at how his voice deepens on his last few words. His eyes are still watching you closely, so you quickly nod your head and turn to him.  
  
“Alright. Why not? Let’s do it!” you say hastily, as you pack up the box of chocolates on your lap and move it to the ground at your side. You’re honestly excited, and very determined to win your prize, when you suddenly get the feeling he’s laughing at you again. His eyes roam over your body and move back to your face, noting your determined expression.  
  
“Are you ready? Let’s have some fun.” He grins. His words are almost syrupy sweet, and for some reason the image of a venomous snake appears in your mind. Shaking your doubts away, you nod your head resolutely and put out your right fist.


	9. Sweet Poison - Imayoshi Shoichi |Part Two|

_“Let’s try a much harder game now. Oh! Let’s play poker. Hmmm? Of course I won’t go easy on you, where’s the fun in that? Besides, I want my prize….”_

__

 

\---

The first round starts. As you sing the little song, you and Imayoshi both throw your hands into the middle. Your fist hovers right across from his flat hand. “Sorry (l/n).” Imayoshi says coyly, his large hand covering your fist. “Paper dominates rock.” You don’t have time to ponder his odd word choice, because his hand tightly squeezes your fist before letting you go and leaning back. “Try again, I’m sure you’ll do better next time.” he suggests pleasantly, while his eyes stare derisively at you and suggest he believes no such thing.  
  
The next round, you decide to throw rock again, hoping to take him by surprise. You clearly underestimated him, because the round plays out exactly as the first one. His open hand once again runs over your fist, holding it strongly. “Did you really think it’d be that easy? Too bad (l/n). I guess you’ll have to keep trying.” he smirks, and his hand stays on yours for a few long seconds before he slowly drags it off, his fingertips running over your knuckles. You ignore the shiver it sends through your body, but as his smirk widens there is no doubt he noticed it.  
  
On the third round, you create an actual plan. By now, he probably thinks you’ll use scissors to beat him. So he’ll need to throw rock, and you’ll need to throw paper to finally win. He lazily watches you, still completely confident in his victory, and asks if you’re ready. You nod, and both of you swing your hands. When you both throw your hands into the center, yours is completely flat.  
  
His fist hovers across from your open hand. And as you predicted, he chose rock.  
  
For a moment he’s frozen, looking down at your outstretched hands. His eyes are opened wide, and he slowly looks back up at you, genuinely stunned.  
  
He pulls back his clenched fist slowly, and stares at you. “It seems I underestimated you, (l/n). I was positive I wouldn’t lose once.” he speaks quietly, in a deep monotone voice. His smile is gone, and for the first time he actually looks irritated. You look back at him warily, suddenly nervous.  
  
“But don’t worry, (l/n).” His smile suddenly returns, although it’s more venomous than ever. “I won’t disappoint you by losing again. I know how eager you are to have your chocolates accepted by _someone_.”  
  
His words are faintly bitter, but he actually looks excited now. From that point on, you never lose the feeling of his eyes boring into you. That intense stare never leaves you, as to your disappointment he wins every single remaining game.  
  
You sigh, clearly frustrated at your massive loss, but put out a hand to shake his. “Congratulations, Imayoshi-senpai. You win.” you state regretfully.  
  
“…I didn’t win my special prize. Interesting.” he mutters to himself, his face blank. He abruptly looks down at your outstretched hand, and his smile returns as he shakes your hand with his powerful grip.  
  
Again, as you let go he lets his hand slides across yours, and his fingertips now run across your sensitive palm. You blush darkly, and quickly grab the box of chocolates to hand it to him. You hold it out, but instead of accepting it he tilts his head and puts on a disappointed face.  
  
“Mmm? What are you doing (l/n)? Is that how you present your Valentine’s Day chocolates?” he asks, his mouth twitching as he struggles not to smile. “You want to do it properly, right (l/n)?” His voice goes deeper again, and despite sounding like a question it’s very clear it is a command.  
  
You blink in surprise, but obediently you stand up. As odd as Imayoshi is…his games have at least distracted you from your earlier distress.  
  
You realised that you hadn’t been crying since before you started playing rock-paper-scissors.  
  
“Imayoshi-senpai…” you say sweetly, bowing low and holding the chocolate box out to him. “Please accept these chocolates.”  
  
“Ah! For me? Really? My (l/n), you’re so kind.” he grins, acting as if he’s actually honored, and takes the box from you. “Thank you. Eh? And what’s this?” he pauses as he pulls off the lid and examines the chocolates inside.  
  
“They’re clearly homemade. I’m impressed (l/n)…you’ve done a rather fine job.” He’s staring at you intently, and for the first time his words seem truly genuine. “…You’re an interesting girl, (l/n). I think I’m going to study you some more. And much more closely.” Once again, he deepens his voice on his last words, and smirks at you.  
  
You blush even darker, and turn away from him in embarrassment. “Imayoshi-senpai, I’m…really not sure what to think of you. Your personality is really…” you stopped, unsure as to how to continue. Before you could think of a way to finish your sentence, Imayoshi starts to laugh.  
  
“Heh, it doesn’t matter.” He leans back, balancing the box of chocolates on his left hand as he looks it over. “You’re guaranteed to fall in love with me anyways.”  
  
You stare at him for a few moments, stunned into complete silence. “…What?” you exclaim , tilting your head in confusion.  
  
“Ah, sorry. But now that I’m interested in you, there’s only one way this can go.” He smiles politely again, with complete confidence in every word.  There is no doubt he completely believes what he’s saying.  
  
The thought itself is insane. Ridiculous. So ridiculous, in fact, that you start to laugh. Imayoshi is now the one who’s surprised, because he clearly expected a reaction more akin to anger or outright refusal than merriment.  
  
“You’re really something, Imayoshi-senpai. Amazing. Still, you’re a very interesting guy. I actually want to see you try and make me fall in love with you.” You laugh, and bow to him again. “Thank you for spending time with me, Imayoshi-senpai. I don’t know why you really came up here, but, somehow, you really did make me feel better.”  
  
Just as you finish speaking, the warning bell blares across the roof. You exhale disappointedly. “I should really go now, or I’ll be late. Please enjoy your chocolates, Imayoshi-senpai!” you say as you turn to leave.  
  
Just before you step through the open door, you stop and turn to look back to him. “Next time we play, I promise you I’ll win more than once!” you exclaim, before you start down the stairs.  
  
Imayoshi’s sharp eyes watches you leave fixedly. His smile is gone, and his annoyed expression is back. He puts his hand over his chest, right above his heart, and sneers angrily. After a moment, he takes his hand off and slowly starts to chuckle.  
  
“Unfortunately for you (l/n), I really don’t like losing.” He states calmly. “Don’t think there’s any way I’ll let myself fall in love with you before you fall in love with me.”  
  
He picks up your box of chocolates and pushes it into his jacket pocket as he stands up. He fists his hands, clenching them tightly, and looks back to the door. There was no doubt now. Every part of his face, from his narrowed eyes to his teeth-baring smile, was that of a vicious predator that has just found its perfect prey.  
  
  
“I’m excited. **Let the game begin**.”


	10. Red Hot Hearts - Wakamatsu Kōsuke

_“Come on, let’s do it again!! Huh? A break? No way! …Ah, sorry. But I can’t help but get fired up around you! Shit, I never wanna let you go!!”_

  
\---  
  
“I can’t believe that guy!! Aomine…Why the hell does he get Valentine’s chocolates? Shit, and I never get—-”  
  
As he was yelling heatedly, the huge boy was walking towards you with his head down, glaring at the floor. As such, it was only when he was almost right behind you when he paused, and looking up slightly to meet your eyes. You timidly look up at the boy looming over you.  
  
He blinks for a few moments, his mouth still hanging open from his interrupted yelling, when he jumps back suddenly. “What the hell are you doing up here?!” he cries out in shock. He looks much more surprised than angry, but someone yelling at you does nothing to improve your mood. In fact, it just upset you further. Before you can stop yourself, you start to cry again, and you turn away to try and stifle your sobs.  
  
“Gak!!” A strangled noise escapes the tall teenager. He looks around desperately, as it hoping someone else was around to help him. Unfortunately, you two were alone on the roof, so the he was only one who could comfort you. “S—S—Sorry! Look, I’m really sorry! Please don’t cry!!” he hollers. Amazingly, he’s yelling at you while he’s apologising _for yelling at you_.  
  
The boy sees his fervent apologies aren’t helping, so instead he steps in front of you and squats down, looking at you in concern. “H—Hey, I’m Wakamatsu Kōsuke. What’s your name?” he asks. His voice is still loud, but at least he’s not actually shouting anymore. You sniff, wiping your eyes, and tell him your name through your choked sobs.  
  
“Great to meet you (l/n)-san!” Wakamatsu grins pleasantly, but it falters quickly once he sees you’re still sniffing and rubbing your eyes. He sits down fully now, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Uh…so—so what’s the problem? Why’s a pretty girl like you spending Valentine’s crying on the roof?”  
  
Sniffing, you put the lid back on the box of chocolates and hug it to your chest tightly. You tell Wakamatsu the entire story, from spending all night making homemade chocolates for your crush, to that same crush leaving you crying on the roof. Wakamatsu listens to you intently, and it’s obvious he’s getting angrier and angrier the more you tell him. Once you finally finish there’s a few moments of silence, before Wakamatsu suddenly swear loudly, fisting his hands.  
  
“What a **jerk**!! What the hell…To make a girl cry and just leave her here! What kind of dumbass—- ” Wakamatsu pauses, and then his eyes narrow and he seems to get even more pissed off. “(l/n)-san! This guy, was it….was it Aomine Daiki?!” Wakamatsu yells. His entire body is shaking with anger, his teeth are grit hard, and he looks ready to fight someone.  He moves abruptly to get up, and you quickly grab on to his arm and jerk him downwards. Wakamatsu stumbles slightly and is clearly surprised at your behaviour, especially since you’ve pulled him much closer to you and currently have his powerful arm pressed to your chest, and you take this opportunity to talk some sense into him.  
  
“No, no it wasn’t! Wakamatsu-san, please calm down.” You demand firmly. “Sit down, okay? …I’m a little worried you’re gonna start a fight with an innocent guy…”  
  
“I—Innocent?!” Wakamatsu shouts in disbelief, looking cross again. You look up at him desperately, squeezing his arm tighter to your chest, and he blushes suddenly. “F—Fine.” He grumbles in annoyance, as he reluctantly sits beside you.  
  
“Thank goodness…” you sigh in relief, and release his arm. You don’t even notice that Wakamatsu is still staring at you and blushing slightly, even as he pulls his arm back and rubs it lightly. He jumps in surprise when you suddenly start speaking again. “Wakamatsu-san, you really seem to dislike this Aomine…you were complaining about him when you entered the roof too. Why is that?”  
  
It was clear you weren’t the only one who wanted to talk today, because Wakamatsu spends the next several minutes yelling and complaining about Aomine. As well as learning way more than you’d ever wanted to about Aomine Daiki, who you now know as the ace of your school’s basketball team, you also learn a lot about Wakamatsu. The new captain of the basketball team, you discover that Wakamatsu is someone who values hard work and determination, and someone who’s incredibly passionate about basketball. You happily watch him complain, occasionally speaking up to agree with him. This never fails to calm him down a bit as he smiles at you, thanking you for understanding.  
  
“…Well, he’s a jerk, but at least he comes to practice now.” Wakamatsu finishes, letting out an angry, drawn-out exhale.  
  
You can’t help but laugh. “Wow Wakamatsu-san, you really do go through a lot.” You say, as you look up at him again. You stay quiet for a moment, and then hold out the box of chocolates to him. “Here. I think you need these chocolates more than anyone else.” You start to blush and look away from him. “I hope they make you feel better…because you really did make me feel better.”  
  
Wakamatsu goes quiet, and you feel him take the box from you. You turn back to him, and to your surprise his face is slowly turning a darker and darker red.  
  
“Thank you (l/n)-san!” He shouts unexpectedly, causing you to jolt back. “You’re—-You’re really not like any girl I’ve ever met! Girls—-girls don’t like me because I yell all the time, and I’m really big, but—-but you’re different!”  
  
While you can definitely understand being agitated by the fact Wakamatsu does not seem to possess anything even close to an inside voice most of the time, you don’t see why any girl would have a problem with his size or body. Extremely tall and muscular, Wakamatsu’s body is nothing short of incredible. You don’t even realise you’re staring at it until he suddenly speaks up again, causing you to jump slightly while trying to cover your blushing face, and moving your gaze to the floor.  
  
“(L/n)-san, are you free after school? L-Let’s get yakisoba together!”  
  
“Uh? Oh! Oh, sorry Wakamatsu-san…but I’m really tired from staying up all night making chocolates…” You pause, deciding not to mention that as well as physically exhausted you’re pretty emotionally drained as well, thanks to all of that crying earlier. “I love yakisoba, but I don’t think I’d make very good company…”  
  
Just as Wakamatsu’s face starts to fall in obvious disappointment, you smile brightly at him. “How about we meet up tomorrow for our yakisoba lunch instead?” you suggest happily.  
  
Wakamatsu grins widely, still blushing, and pumps his fist in elation. “Yes!! This is gonna be great (l/n)-san!! Shit, my first date, and with someone as beautiful as (l/n)-chan!!” he shouts, clearly overexcited. You laugh, his enjoyment almost infectious, when the bell suddenly rings loudly across the roof. You stand up, and Wakamatsu quickly follows suit.  
  
“Oh, I have to get going now…but here.” You pull a paper and pen out of your jacket pocket and write down your number, handing it to him. “I’ll be waiting for your call, Wakamatsu-san.”  
  
Wakamatsu blushes further, and opens his mouth to respond when he’s interrupted by the sound of the door behind you opening.  
  
“…Ah? Someone’s up here?” The new boy’s mouth twitches in annoyance, and his eyes narrow. “And I only just got away from her…now where am I gonna sleep…”  
  
Wakamatsu’s expression completely changes once he lays eyes on the boy entering the roof, and you guess this must be the Aomine Daiki you’ve heard so much about. His hands in his pockets, Aomine kicks the door behind him closed as he approaches you and Wakamatsu.  
Your eyes dart back and forth between the two. Wakamatsu is glaring at Aomine, clearly not happy to see him, while Aomine’s eyes drift down to the box in Wakamatsu’s hands. In a smooth, impossibly fast motion he flips the cover of the box off. “…Wow.” is all Aomine says, looking mildly impressed, as he grabs a chocolate from the box and tosses it into his open mouth. He chews on it thoughtfully while Wakamatsu is once again shaking with rage.  
  
“Y—You…A—Aomine…” Wakamatsu’s words come out strangled and guttural, as if he can barely talk with his fury. He looks just about ready to blow.  
  
“…Good. Really good.” Aomine mumbles in surprise, as he grabs another chocolate from the box.  
  
That seems to do it, and you step to the side and cover your ears just as Wakamatsu starts shouting at Aomine. You start walking away, leaving a bored and vaguely annoyed Aomine trying to grab another chocolate while Wakamatsu indignantly jerks it away from him.  
  
As you step outside, you put a hand over your mouth to stifle your laughter. Wakamatsu might be a lot to take in, but at heart he is a good person, with a wild passion you can’t help but admire. You walk down the steps still smiling, the sound of muffled yelling accompanying you the entire way.


	11. Sugar Glass - Himuro Tatsuya

_“Don’t expect life to be fair…but expect me to be by your side no matter how unfair it gets. No force on Earth could ever tear me away from you.”_

__

 

\---

 

“…Hah…Hah…”  
  
Himuro Tatsuya, one of your school’s most loved boys, races through the doorway of the roof. Looking behind him and panting lightly, he’s halfway towards you when he turns his head around, locks eyes with you, and instantly freezes. A few seconds pass, before his eyes narrow in annoyance and his lips press together tightly. When he realises you’ve noticed his irratation, he offers you a strained smile.  
  
“My apologies. I didn’t know the roof was already occupied.” He states politely, although it’s more than clear he’s not happy to see you here. This seems fair, since you’re not very happy to see him either.  
  
He reluctantly walks closer to you, and with his immense height he’s soon able to look over into your lap. When he sees the box of chocolates still held tightly in your hands he winces slightly, but when his eyes move back to your face they widen in surprise. Once he realises you’re crying, his smile immediately disappears and he looks away uncomfortably. Himuro, having escaped to the roof to avoid the many women trying to give him chocolates and confess their love to him, has come to an important insight: you did not come here for him.  
  
You turn away from him quickly, trying to wipe your tear-stained face, and quickly shove the lid back onto the box. You don’t see that he smiles again, but that this one is small, warm, and actually genuine.  
  
“If it’s alright with you…would you like to have lunch together? I would love your company.” He says softly. You nod your head, mumbling a quiet ‘yes’, although you can’t help but wish he’d just leave. The only thing that makes your rejection sting worse is being pitied by someone who has never been rejected.  
  
“Thank you. My name is Himuro Tatsuya.” He speaks kindly as he sits across from you. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?”  
  
“(l/n) (f/n). It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Himuro-san.” You respond quietly. There’s a long awkward pause for a moment, before Himuro speaks up again.  
  
“(L/n)-san, if I may…why are you up here? Shouldn’t you be in the school, celebrating with your friends?” Himuro inquires concernedly.  
  
You stiffen up immediately, but after a moment you slump down as the tension leaves you completely. You decide there’s no harm in talking about it. Sniffing, you wipe your eyes, and start to tell the story. You tell him about making the homemade chocolates, about confessing to your crush, and about him leaving you here on the roof. You stare straight at the ground throughout your entire story, but once you finish you look back up at him. To your surprise, he looks sincerely saddened by your story. He leans over and puts his hand on yours.  
  
“(L/n)-san, I’m very sorry something like this happened to you. You worked very hard, and it is unfortunate—-”  
  
“Thank you, Himuro-san.” You interrupt him, looking back down at the ground as you pull your hand back. “Thank you, but I really don’t want your pity.”  
  
Himuro tilts his body back, looking at you in shock, and before you know it you can’t stop your words.  
  
“Honestly, your words ring pretty hollow, coming from someone who’s never been rejected. Who’s never been ‘not good enough’.” You state tiredly. You sound like you feel: emotionally exhausted, but still angry and hurt. You also know it’s wrong to take this anger out on Himuro, but you can’t stop yourself. “Please, Himuro-san, let’s not play this ‘game’ where you pretend to care about me, and I pretend to believe that you do. I…I just can’t do it today…” It takes all you have not to start crying again.  
  
Himuro is completely silent, his head tilted down and his hair covering his eyes. He should be furious at you, but…he just can’t bring himself to be. There’s just so much pain and exhaustion in your voice. And it’s excruciatingly familiar to him.  
  
You realise you’ve gone too far, and open your mouth to apologise. However, Himuro speaks up first.  
  
“(L/n)-san,” he starts, his voice quiet and soothing. “I do understand what it’s like to ‘not be good enough’. I know it very well. I also know what it’s like to be rejected.”  
  
You look up, and to your surprise Himuro actually looks like he’s holding back a pained expression. He turns away closes his eyes tightly for a moment, as if trying to block out some painful memories. You watch him quietly, feeling a fierce guilt well up inside you, and you stick your hand out to him suddenly.  
  
“Himuro-san.” You say politely, your voice much gentler now. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don’t we start again? Hello, my name is (l/n) (f/n), and I’m very glad to meet you. Thank you for spending lunch with me.”  
  
Himuro turns back to you and blinks, but a small appreciative smile appears on his face as his hand takes yours and gently shakes it. “You’re very welcome, (l/n)-san. My name is Himuro Tatsuya. I’m glad to meet you as well.” he replies softly.  
  
“So, Himuro-san…” you start, as you pull your hand back. “I’d like to know more about you. Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”  
Himuro is startled again, but his smile is slightly brighter this time as he nods and starts talking. You converse for quite a while, with Himuro speaking especially passionately about basketball.  
  
“I think he left just as I was learning juggling at—”  
  
“Juggling? Really?! No way!” You say, your mouth hanging open in amazement.  
  
For a second, Himuro’s expression goes completely blank, and he turns his face away from you just as it turns irritated. Unfortunately, Himuro has met many girls in the past who treat this talent, and any other quirk that doesn’t fit their image of him, as a flaw in their otherwise perfect ‘Himuro’. More unfortunate is the fact he seems to think your reaction means you’re one of those girls.  
  
But, once more, you surprise him.  
  
Before he can say anything, you quickly lean closer to him, you’re eyes wide. “That’s so cool!” You exclaim. “That’s such an awesome talent; I’ve never known anyone able do that! Ah!” you put your hands on his, smiling brightly. “Would you be able to juggle something for me, Himuro-san? Please?”  
  
Again, you stun Himuro into silence, and he stares at you in shock. A moment passes, before he gives you another heartfelt smile. He then pushes the hair over his eye back over his ear, so you can see more of his face. He looks happier than you’ve ever seen him, though you can’t quite understand why.  
  
“Of course, (l/n)-san. But…ah…I need something to juggle…” he says, as he looks around for just that. You quickly hold out your box of chocolates. “Here! Use some of these!” you reply excitedly. “They’re different sizes, and pretty solid!”  
  
Himuro has to put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. You tilt your head in confusion, but he quickly regains his composure. “Alright, (l/n)-san. But only on one condition.” he leans closer to you, his eyes looking deeply into yours. “If I do this, you have to give the rest of your chocolates to me, as a Valentine’s Day present.”  
  
“…Hah?” You blink at him in disbelief. “But…Himuro-san, don’t you have more than enough chocolates? Dozens of girls must have given some to you today already. Why would you want mine?”  
  
Himuro pauses for a moment, still watching you closely, with a small smile on his face. “Yours are special, (l/n)-san. Very special.” he pauses to take the box from your hand, opening the lid and looking at the chocolates inside. “These are the only chocolates I want today…the ones made by you.”  
  
“O—Oh! Well, in that case, sure. Of c—course you can have them.” you stammer, blushing darkly.  
  
Himuro smiles appreciatively. “Thank you, (l/n)-san. Now, to fulfill my end of the deal…” he picks up a few of your small chocolates, taking a moment to test their weight, and then, to your delight, he starts to juggle them. His hands are incredibly agile, and are always there to catch the falling chocolate. “Amazing…” you gasp. “Wow, I wish I could do that…”  
  
You’re so busy marveling at his juggling, in fact, you don’t see that Himuro is concentrating more on you than what’s in his hands.  
  
After a few moments, you suddenly speak up again. “Himuro-san…I’m so sorry about the way I acted earlier.” you say quietly, turning your head to the ground. “I was upset, and I took it out on you. I really acted terribly. I’m…I’m really sorry.”  
  
Once again you seem to have caught Himuro off-guard, but he quickly regains his smile. He stops juggling the chocolates and puts them back into the box thoughtfully. His expression is soft as he gazes at you. “That must have been difficult to say, (l/n)-san. I know you were very distraught. I accept your apology, now please think nothing more of it.” he replies affectionately.  
  
“Himuro-san, you’re so kind….Thank you. Thank you for spending this time with me, for comforting me and making me feel better. I don’t think I can ever repay your kindness.” You smile at him, slowly lifting your eyes to meet his. “I understand why you’re so popular now. You’re a compassionate person, and you’re _really_ interesting! You’re a lot of fun to talk to!”  
  
“…I should be the one thanking you, (l/n)-san,” he says quietly, looking towards the side. His expression seems oddly melancholic now. “I don’t often meet girls who want to talk to the real me. I’m…actually really happy that I got to meet someone who really wanted to get to know me, and likes me for more than…” He pauses suddenly, looking back at you before darting his eyes away. “Really…I should have been comforting you, but you ended up comforting me…” he sighs, pushing his hair back again.  
  
“Himuro-san…”  
  
You’re interrupted by the shrill sound of the bell ringing throughout the roof. Himuro narrows his eyes in annoyance, and sighs irritatedly as he stands up.  
  
“(L/n)-san, I really wanted to spend some more time with you, but I must be going. People will come looking for me now that lunch is ending.” His face still looks annoyed as he glares at the door, but it quickly softens when you stand up as well and hand him the chocolates, smiling brightly. He gently takes the box from you, once again smiling tenderly, and holds it close to his chest.  
  
“Himuro-san! It really was a lot fun talking to you!” You exclaim excitedly. “Let’s do it again! Maybe you can even teach me how to juggle?”  
  
Himuro laughs cheerfully. “As long as it’s you, (l/n)-san, I’ll be happy to do so…It was a pleasure meeting you, (l/n)-san. Goodbye.” he waves at you, still smiling, before he leaves the roof.  
  
You wave as well, before sitting back down. You know you should start heading to class, but you have so many thoughts swirling in your head you decide to take a few minutes to think some more. Besides, your heart is beating painfully fast, and you know your cheeks must be flaming red.  
  
—-  
  
As Himuro reaches the bottom of the stairs, he stops. He looks down, his hair hanging over his face as he stares at the box of chocolates in his hands. Slowly, he runs a finger over the lid’s soft material. “Why did I want these so badly, (l/n)-san? Because they’re beautiful…like you.” He whispers quietly, before he turns his head back to the roof door, his expression fiercely determined.  
  
“We **will** meet again. I will do whatever it takes to make you want me as much as I want you.”


	12. Iron Candy - Teppei Kiyoshi

_“Hey, let’s have some fun together~ Uh? Who else is coming? Heh…sorry, you misunderstood me. This fun is just for the two of us~”_

__

\---

“….Huh?”  
  
A boy walks through the door of the roof, and in order to look at his face you have to crane your neck upwards. He was incredibly tall, and even in your school’s conservative uniform it was clear he was quite muscular as well. He might’ve looked intimidating…if he didn’t have such a kind, currently extremely surprised, face.  
  
“Ah! Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know anyone was up here.” He holds his hands up amicably, smiling at you. His smile is incredibly warm, and to your surprise you feel that warmth spreading throughout your chest. You feel your heart beat faster, and you barely hear him when he continues. “Do you mind if I have lunch up here as well? It’s pretty busy and loud in the school…” he laughs, the same rich warmth in his smile pervading his laugh.  
  
He starts walking towards you, and his expression soon turns shocked again as he gets a closer look at you. You realise he’s just seen the tears still running over your cheeks. You quickly turn away and rub at your face. “Yes, yes it’s fine. I’m not doing anything anyways.” You say, trying to steel your wavering voice.  
  
The boy watches you quietly for a moment, his expression unexpectedly sad. You sniffle, rubbing your eyes some more when you suddenly feel something on your head. “In that case, let’s have lunch together!” he says enthusiastically as he playfully tousles your hair, and sits down beside you as he pulls his hand back. You only manage to nod, and barely that since you’re so busy noticing how close he’s sitting to you. He looks even bigger up close, but, again, what really catches your attention is his beautiful, earnest smile. You can feel your heart start beating faster again.  
  
“My name’s Teppei Kiyoshi.” he says pleasantly, as he holds his hand out to shake yours. You stare at him in amazement, and slowly put your hand out to shake his. “(L/n)…(f/n)…” you respond unsurely. His hand completely dwarfs yours, it’s so massive. As his hand gently squeezes yours, you’re amazed at the incredible strength you can feel in it. You marvel at how large and powerful his hand is, until something your friend told you pops into your head. Something about men with large hands.  
  
You quickly pull your hands back, using them to cover your cheeks so he doesn’t realise how unbelievably hard you are blushing. It’s unnecessary however, because Teppei is concentrating on something else. He sees the box of chocolates in your lap, and his expression once again turns melancholy. He has no trouble figuring out why a girl is crying up here alone, with a box of incredibly made chocolates clutched in her hands.  
  
Before you notice however, his smile has already returned. “Wow, those chocolates are amazing. Are they homemade?” He pauses while you slowly nod at him, still holding your cheeks. “You must be really good at making them, (l/n)-chan.” He says softly, smiles at you again, and you feel your cheeks turn even darker.  
  
“Ah—ah—thank you, Teppei-kun.” you stammer shyly. “Um if—if you like them so much, may—maybe…you’d like to take them?” You pick up the box of chocolates, putting the lid back on, and hold it out to him, turning your face away to hide your blushing now that your hands are occupied.  
  
“Ah! Really?!” Teppei grins happily as he looks at you. “I’d love to take them (l/n)-chan.” He gently takes them from your hands, and looks at them appreciatively. “I only get obligation chocolates…I’ve never gotten something as amazing as this. Thank you, (l/n)-chan.”  
  
You nod, still facing away from him, and for a moment there’s nothing but an awkward silence. You’re just starting to get anxious again, when Teppei abruptly speaks up.  
  
“(L/n)-chan, you seem like a very interesting girl. Tell me about yourself. I wanna know more about you.”  
  
You look back at him instantly, your eyes wide in astonishment. But Teppei’s expression is nothing but genuine, and his smile still makes your chest feel pleasurably warm. So, despite the fact you were crying only a little while ago, you find yourself opening up and spend the rest of the lunch period talking to Teppei about anything and everything. You talked about movies, books, music, food, school, hobbies… Teppei really did want to learn everything about you. He seemed fascinated by everything you had to say, and you were equally fascinated by him.  
  
His love for his grandparents, who raised him, his talent at playing the harmonica, of all things, and, most of all, his passion for basketball.  
Teppei obviously loved basketball with all his heart and soul. He loved his team, the games they played together, their losses and victories all meant a lot to him.  
  
“Wow…Teppei-kun, I have to admit I’m a little jealous. I wish I had something I loved as much as you love basketball.” you confess, smiling happily at him.  
  
Unexpectedly, he turns completely towards you and grabs your hands in his.  
  
“T—T—Teppei-kun?” you stutter. His hands once again completely dwarfs both of yours, and you’re again amazed at how powerful they are while they still hold your hands so tenderly. Again, your friend’s words drift into your head, and you blush fiercely. You try looking up at his face instead to calm you down, but too late you realise his face is incredibly close to yours, and his smile is the sweetest, warmest one yet. Your heart is now beating so loud you swear he’ll be able to hear it. Just when you think you’re going to completely melt under Teppei’s compassionate gaze, he suddenly speaks up.  
  
“(L/n)-chan…You know, I used to dislike having such a big body…I felt out of place most of the time, like I didn’t belong.” he speaks softly, seriously to you. “But then I found basketball. I made many treasured friends, and now I can use my size to protect and support them! I’m really happy…and I know I really belong.”  
  
You look up at Teppei with large eyes. Your heart, your cheeks…you forget all of that, lost in his words. You can feel his heart in everything he’s saying.  
  
“(L/n)-chan, I’m sure the same thing will happen for you. I know you’re sad and lost now but—but someday you’ll find something you really love, and you’ll feel you belong too.” Teppei says, squeezing your hands gently.  
  
“But…but Teppei-kun, how—how can you be so sure?” You ask him desperately. You really want to believe what he’s saying, but…  
  
“Because I’m going to help you. No matter what it takes.” He moves his head closer to you, until your foreheads are just barely touching. You can feel his warm breath on your face. “(L/n)-chan…I promise you that.”  
  
Somehow, your face turns even redder than before.  Your heart beats dangerously fast, and you can feel it spreading the heat from your chest all over your body. Truthfully, you think you’ve already found something, or rather someone, that you could truly love with all your heart and soul.  
  
Before you can notice that Teppei’s breath is getting warmer, and his eyes are staring deeper into yours, a shrill ringing suddenly sounds throughout the roof, and you both jump back from each other in surprise. It’s just the opportunity you need, and you jump right to your feet.  
  
“Teppei-kun, thank you so much for your help! I really appreciated your company!” you call over your shoulder as you run to the door. “I—I really hope to see you again!”  
  
You stumble out of the door, stopping for a moment to grab your face. “He—He—He couldn’t have been doing that on purpose…r—r-right?” you gasped, as you felt your painfully hot cheeks. Sighing anxiously, you walked down the stairs, rubbing your face embarrassedly.  
  
Meanwhile, Teppei watches the door slowly fall shut behind you, his eyes wide with surprise. “Mah, (l/n)-chan really is a very kind girl…” he laughs affectionately, as he pulls out his lunch. He’d completely forgotten about it after he really saw your face, still beautiful even with tears running down it.  
  
“I’m really glad I met you, (l/n)-chan…we’ll definitely meet again~” he says kindly, as he looks down at the box of chocolates you’d given him.  
  
His cheeks turn a slight red as he looks back to the door. “With your amazing skills at making chocolates and how sweet you are…my grandparents would love you. Heh, they’d probably insist that I take you somewhere nice in thanks for the chocolates, while they plan our wedding…they’d definetly call you ‘a perfect wife’…”  
  
He laughs again, but goes quiet as he looks back down to the box, his cheeks turn darker and he rubs his neck awkwardly. “Well…taking you somewhere nice as thanks isn’t such a bad idea…” he mumbles shyly.  
  
“Mmm… (l/n)-chan, when you find what you’re looking for…maybe I’ll introduce you to my grandparents…hopefully as more than a friend…”


	13. Peppermint - Kasamatsu Yukio

_“Hey, be careful of Kise, alright? In fact, don’t go anywhere near that first year. If he bothers you, tell me and I’ll discipline him. If a beautiful girl like you fell for him he’d have a swelled head for life. Besides…you’re—you’re really important to me, alright? No way am I letting you fall for anyone else. You’re **my** girl, and I’m keeping it that way.”_

__

“Ugh, what the hell?! Why do girls go so crazy over Kise? No way am I spending lunch watching him get every chocolate in the sch—-”  
  
A tall boy enters the roof, grumbling irately, but the moment he sees you he goes completely silent. His piercing blue eyes are wide in surprise as they stare directly into yours, and for a few moments he just stands there gawking at you.  
  
Slowly, his face starts to turn red, and he looks away from you. “W—What are you doing up here?!” he exclaims, obviously tense at your  
presence. You sniff pitiably, and his eyes dart back to you. Realization dawns on his face as he grasps the fact that you’re crying, and you see he’s become even more uncomfortable. You wipe your eyes desperately, feeling embarrassed that you’ve been seen in such a miserable state.  
Just then, you see him swallow nervously, and it almost looks like he’s trying to steel himself. Confused, you’re about to give him a quick apology when he suddenly speaks up.  
  
“Please, don’t cry!” He yells resolutely, although you can see his body is still shaking. “I—-Uh, well, I’m bad with girls, but I have a friend who’s pretty popular with them! I can get him to—Guh!” he stops immediately and jumps back slightly, as he sees his words have just made you start to cry harder.  
  
“Ah…T-Thank you but—-but I don’t want to interrupt someone’s h—happy Valentine’s Day.” You say, turning away from him. You’re using all of your will power to stop yourself from sobbing, imagining how happy everyone is down in the school while you sit up here, rejected and miserable.  
  
He watches you anxiously for a bit, clearly feeling guilty about upsetting you further. After a moment of tense silence, he slowly walks towards you. You jump slightly in surprise as you see him sit right beside you.  
  
“M—My name is Kasamatsu Yukio.” Kasamatsu says nervously, his hands tightly gripping his knees as he sits up straight and looks straight ahead, away from you. You can still see his muscular body shaking. Somehow, he’s more on edge at this moment than you are.  
  
“Ah…right, yes. I recognise you. You’re the guy who’s always kicking Kise.” You nod. Unexpectedly, you start to laugh lightly, and rest your chin in your hand as you look back at him. “You’re not very popular with all of Kise’s fans, right?”  
  
Kasamatsu stiffens even further, if that’s possible, but before he can get upset you continue. “You’re also the captain of our basketball team. A team that’s among the top ten of the nation.” You clarify kindly.  
  
“Top eight.” Kasamatsu corrects you immediately, and you smile as you realise it’s something that’s of great pride to him.  
  
“Sorry, my mistake. Top eight.” You smile gently and put your hand out towards him. “My name is (l/n) (f/n). It’s nice to meet you, Kasamatsu-san.”  
  
“Y—You too.” Kasamatsu replies formally, shaking your hand apprehensively. He has a powerful grip, which makes sense with his muscular body, but you can still feel tremors going through his hand. He really wasn’t lying when he said he was bad with girls.  
  
As you both pull your hands back, you awkwardly turn to the side and sit quietly for a few moments. You don’t see that Kasamatsu is looking at his hands now as they ball into fists in his lap. You don’t realise that he’s telling himself that as he’s encouraged his team mates numerous times in the past, he needs to encourage you, someone who really needs it, right now.  He nods determinedly to himself as he prepares something positive and motivating to say.  
  
“(L/n).” He speaks up decisively as he turns to look at you. He takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to continue when you turn to look back at him, and he completely loses his words.  
  
“W-What is it, Kasamatsu-san?” You ask, wiping a tear that’s slowly running down your cheek. The tears still gathered at your eyes make them look so bright they almost sparkle, and Kasamatsu is staring straight at them in awe.  
  
Overwhelmed, Kasamatsu completely forgets what he was planning to say, but you’re still looking at him expectantly. So instead of something cool and inspiring, as he intended, Kasamatsu says the first thing that comes to mind.  
  
“Y—You know (l/n), I wear these socks to support my legs, and ease the burden on my muscles. M—Maybe I can support you like that, and ease your burden!” He announces this to you, and quite loudly too.  
  
You blink at him in surprise, and for a few moments you both just sit in silence, his face gradually turning bright red. Finally you turn to the side and put a hand on your mouth, trying very, _very_ hard not to laugh.  
  
“Ugh…I can’t believe I said something so stupid and cheesy.” Kasamatsu groans, as he rubs the back of his neck embarrassedly. He turns away from you as you look back towards him. “I’m sorry. I’m not like Kise, I just can’t talk to girls.” He says as he grits his teeth, furious at his own inability to comfort you.  
  
You smile at him brightly, and gently put your hand on his right hand, which is balled up tightly into a tense fist. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m not crying anymore, right?” You say softly, rubbing your thumb over his. He looks up at you in utter shock, and you have a feeling his heart is beating as fast as yours.  
  
“You really did comfort me, Kasamatsu-san. I truly appreciate your kind words.” You smile pleasantly. “To be honest, I was a little nervous when I first recognised you, because I’ve heard you’re a…a fairly intense guy.” You pause for a moment to laugh, in part because this ‘intense guy’ is still ogling you in disbelief. “But you’re a very compassionate, thoughtful person Kasamatsu-san! I’m really glad I spend this Valentine’s Day lunch with you.”  
  
Pulling your hand back, you reach for the chocolate box in your lap. Meanwhile, Kasamatsu looks down at the hand you had just been touching and rubs it shyly with his other hand. He looks back up to see you holding out a heart shaped box to him.  
  
“Please accept this, Kasamatsu-san. In thanks for comforting me.” You grin again, as he slowly takes it from you.  
  
“T—Thank you, (l/n)!” Kasamatsu stammers nervously, as he starts to blush again. He holds the box tightly, as if he can’t believe it’s real.  
  
“You’re very welcome. I hope you enjoy it!” You exclaim happily. But despite this, you can’t help but notice he’s still tense around you. “So…Kasamatsu-san, why don’t you tell me more about yourself? Maybe then you’ll be less nervous around me.”  
  
“S-Sure, I guess.” Kasamatsu puts the chocolate box to his side, and turns back to you. “You already know I’m part of the basketball team…Well, I’m also interested in music.”  
  
“Oh, that’s cool! Do you play an instrument too?”  
  
“Yeah. I—I play the guitar.”  
  
“Whoa, really?! That’s such an amazing talent! And girls love guys who make beautiful music, you know?” You laugh, teasing him lightly.  
  
Kasamatsu blushes darkly, looking away from you again. “W-Well if you want, I—I’ll play for you sometime then!” he declares powerfully, making you laugh again.  
  
“That sounds like a lot of fun, I’d be happy to hear your play! How about I give you my number, and—” You pause, as you look at his beet-red face. You realise that it’d be quite difficult for him to work up the courage to call you, giving that he can’t even speak to you without getting extremely anxious. “Ah…Well, how about you give me your number instead?”  
  
“Y—Yeah, sure.” Kasamatsu nods, and pulls out a small notebook and pen from his pocket. He tears out a page, writes his name and number on it, and nervously hands it back to you. You can tell he was shaking when he wrote this, since you can barely make out what he’s written.  
“So…it’s like this?” You ask, as you then read out the note. He nods that you’ve read it correctly, still not quite looking at you, and suddenly the shrill sound of the bell echoes over the roof.  
  
“Oh! I’m sorry, Kasamatsu-san, but I have to go! If I’m late, I’ll get detention…” you sigh, as you stand up and dust off your skirt. You notice Kasamatsu’s eyes darting towards your skirt and he suddenly looks away as his cheeks turn darker, and he presses his hands further into his lap.  
  
“…Kasamatsu-san, I want to thank you again for being so nice. You really cheered me up. So! In return, I’m going to help you get less nervous around girls!” You promise him cheerfully, placing your hands on your hips in a determined pose.  
  
“H-How are you going to do that?!” Kasamatsu responds in surprise.  
  
“Well, have you ever heard of ‘desensitization’?” You pause, noting his confused expression, and then grin cheekily. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to explain it to you later. Bye bye, Kasamatsu-san~” You wave gleefully to him as you skip out the door.  
  
The moment you leave Kasamatsu breathes a long sigh of relief, and runs a hand through his spiky black hair. He looks down at his side, where the box of chocolates you have him is resting. “That was embarrassing, but…I’ve never met a girl like her before.” He mumbles softly, and he can’t help but smile slightly.  
  
“…I’m gonna make it up to you, (l/n). I’ll play you the best music you’ve ever heard!” He states determinedly, as his eyes blaze with resolve. He starts to furiously write in his notebook, words and notes and everything he wished he had the courage to say to you when you touched his hand and tried to comfort him when he was failing to comfort you.  
  
And at the top, in small letters, three words dedicate this song:  
  
 _‘To my muse’_


	14. Snickers - Takao Kazunari |Part One|

_“Mmm…I think my favourite use of the Hawk Eye is seeing all angles of you…and your beautiful smile~”_

__

“Woah! It’s crazy down there. Although seeing Shin-chan disappear when those girls came looking for him was pretty funny—-Huh?”  
  
The boy sauntering in through the roof’s door, one hand holding a lunch bag thrown over his shoulder, the other stuck in his pocket, stops abruptly the moment he sees you. His eyes open wide in surprise, and even from a distance you’re amazed at how beautiful and blue they are, even as they seem to pierce right through you.  
  
You suddenly get the feeling that there’s very little those eyes miss, and you turn around swiftly to try and hide your face, while grabbing the lid and putting it back on the box of chocolates to hide them as well. It’s too late though. He’s seen, and figured out, everything.  
  
You turn your head slightly behind you, seeing the boy’s face fall for a brief moment. You turn back quickly, when you suddenly hear running behind you. Before you can look back again the boy jumps in front of you, skidding to a stop and looking down at you with a bright smile on his face.  
  
“Hey! Whatcha’ doing up here alone? Cutie like you should be down in the school, having fun with everyone else.” The boy says amiably, as you stare at him in complete shock. You’re even more surprised to see a sincere, upbeat grin on his face.  
  
“I—I uh…I came up here to give someone these chocolates and…and—-” You were so surprised by his optimistic nature that you just start spilling the story. “And then he rejected me.” You finish, sniffing loudly. You bite down on your lower lip to stop yourself from crying again.  
  
“Hey hey, don’t worry about something like that.” He responds in a kind voice, and you look back up at him, taken aback. His smile is smaller, more comforting now, and he’s looking at you with genuine concern. “That guy obviously wasn’t very smart if he rejected a sweet girl like you, right?”  
  
You look down at the chocolate box in your lap, and press your lips together in a tight line. You really wish you could believe him. As you run your fingers down the side of the box despondently, you feel a muscular arm thrown unexpectedly around your shoulders, and you raise your gaze up to see a handsome face, and stunning sharp blue eyes, very close to yours.  
  
“I don’t wanna see such a pretty face so sad.” He grins cheekily at you. “The name’s Takao Kazunari. What’s yours?”  
  
“Ah…my name is (l/n) (f/n)…” You introduce yourself timidly, as you feel your cheeks turn red with how close he is. This doesn’t seem to bother Takao in the slightest, and he continues on.  
  
“It’s nice to meet you (l/n)-chan!” He grins, and pulls his arm back as he sits close beside you. You can still feel your heart beating wildly from the close contact, but he doesn’t seem fazed at all. “Hey, why don’t you tell me about yourself? You seem like an interesting girl~” he teases you playfully.  
  
You nod gradually, watching him uncertainly as he sits back and tosses his lunch bag to the side. He smiles cheerfully at you, and at the same time his intense eyes seem to see right into you. You start telling him about yourself…your hobbies, likes, dislikes, club activities…Takao seems interested in everything you have to say, and never loses his charming smile. And after speaking to him for a while, you actually do start to feel a lot better.  
  
“So…Takao-san—-”  
  
“Pfft! You don’t need to use ‘–san’ with me. Just call me Takao-kun.”  
  
“Oh, alright! So, Takao-kun, would you tell me about yourself? You—You seem like a very interesting guy.” You respond, trying to mimic his playful attitude.  Takao’s eyes widen slightly, clearly surprised, but then he laughs and nods agreeably.  
  
So Takao starts to tell you about himself. He talks a lot about his love for basketball and the Shūtoku High basketball team he’s a part of, and you can immediately tell from his grateful tone of voice that he values both very much. You also recognize that he is someone who values joy and positivity, which makes sense as he’s barely stopped smiling from the moment you first met him.  
  
“And I have a special ability—the Hawk Eye. It’s pretty useful on the court—-and off of it.” He smirks and winks at you.  
  
“Ah? What do you mean by that, Takao-kun?”  
  
“I mean it helps with my other specialty—back flips!” Takao laughs, ruffling your hair teasingly.  
  
“Woah! That’s so cool!” You say exuberantly, your eyes wide with excitement. “Can you show me? I’d really like to see that!”  
  
Takao puts a hand over to his mouth and turns to the side to stifle his laughter at how ridiculously excited you are. “S—Sure!” he manages to say in between his chuckles, as the both of you stand up.  
  
Takao takes a deep breath to calm himself down, and steps a fair bit away from you. “Alright now, don’t try this at home kiddies~” He laughs as he swings his arms. And then before your very eyes, he’s suddenly in the air, spinning backwards, and lands right back on his feet all in less than a few seconds. “Ta-da~” He exclaims, opening his arms out wide and bowing exaggeratedly.  
  
“Amazing!”  You gasp, impressed, as you start to clap elatedly. “That was really amazing, Takao-kun! You’re incredible!” You exclaim, as you beam cheerfully at him.  
  
Takao gazes back at you and smiles softly back in return. “Ah, thank you. I’m glad to see you smiling…you know you have a beautiful smile, (l/n)-chan?” He replies kindly.  
  
“O—Oh! T—Thank you, Takao-kun.” You blush, looking down in embarrassment. Suddenly, your eyes fall to the box of chocolates you’d put to the side when you stood up. You’re quiet for a moment before you bend down slightly and pick up the box, and when you straighten up you immediately shove your arms out to Takao, tightly clutching the box.  
  
“Eh? What’s this?” Takao says, blinking in surprise.  
  
“Takao-kun, I really meant it: you’re an amazing person! I was so upset earlier, but in only a little while you cheered me up and made me completely forget me sadness.” You say to him determinedly, while he watches you in astonishment. “So—-So I really want you to have these chocolates! Please enjoy them!”  
  
Takao stares you for a bit longer, before his small, kind smile returns and he gently takes the box from you. He opens it up and makes a long, low whistle. “These are homemade, aren’t they…it’s easy to see how much work and care went into ‘em.” He looks back up at you, and you notice that his cheeks are a little red, but he seems genuinely very pleased.  
  
“Thank you, (l/n)-chan. These chocolates are incredible.” He thanks you sincerely. “I’m gonna treasure these. Hmm, but I should really do something to pay you back for such a lovely gift…” He pauses for a moment to think, and then abruptly snaps his fingers. “That’s it! In return for these chocolates…I’ll teach _you_ how to do a backflip!”


	15. Snickers - Takao Kazunari |Part Two|

_“As long as you’re by my side, I’ll always be happy. I’ll always be a winner, because I have **you**._ ”

“A—Are you sure about this, Takao-kun?” You ask unsurely, as you look down at the hard surface of the roof’s floor. You’d been overjoyed when he offered to teach you how to do a backflip, something you’d watched him do in amazement, and had agreed immediately. However, now that you were actually about to do it, you were feeling a bit anxious.  
  
“Heh, don’t worry (l/n)-chan. I’ve done this before. You’re in _very_ good hands.” Takao laughs, throwing his arm around your shoulders again and squeezing them comfortingly. “Remember, all you have to do is get in the right position and jump up like I told you. I’ll be responsible for actually flipping you backwards. You know, until you get over the fear that comes with it.”  
  
You smile appreciatively at him, but Takao notices you’re still nervous. Smiling gently, he pulls his arm back and softly pats your head.  
  
“Don’t be scared. I’ll be spotting you, and you’re safe in my hands. I won’t let you get hurt.” Takao promises you earnestly, and his eyes are staring straight back into yours seriously. “I swear, I won’t let you even touch the ground. I’ll keep you safe, no matter what!”  
  
His eyes spark determinedly and, as if to reinforce his statement, he securely puts his hands on your body, and you feel yourself blushing immediately.  
  
“Alright Takao-kun, I trust you.” You respond honestly. And though it seems odd to say this to someone you’ve just met, you know it’s true. Takao radiates a sincere openness, and it’s impossible not to believe in him. And you have no doubt that, with his toned, muscular arms, he will have no trouble lifting you, and as such you don’t have the slightest fear of being dropped.  
  
“So…it was like this?” You inquire, as you set your body in the position he showed you before.  
  
“Yeah, perfect! Just like that! And just jump whenever you’re ready.” Takao grins. He readies his own body to spot you, and he narrows his eyes slightly as they focus entirely on you.  
  
You take a long deep breath and steady yourself, as you begin to swing your arms. You can feel Takao’s strong hands holding onto your body tightly. Before you can psych yourself out, you jump up as high as you can.  
  
Unfortunately, shortly after you do so, your nerves get the best of you, and you cry out as your limbs start to flail outwards to gain purchase again. You can just see yourself falling away from Takao before you squeeze your eyes shut and brace yourself for impact.  
  
But instead, you feel yourself pulled and then twisted in the air, and you end up falling on something warm and firm. You feel yourself being embraced tightly, and something strong and gentle cradles your head securely against whatever you fell on. You’re so close, and you can hear your heart beating very fast…no, that isn’t it. You’re hearing someone else’s heartbeat…  
  
You slowly move your head up, and you find yourself looking up at Takao’s face. In an instant, you realise what happened. You know Takao’s hands never left your body, even as you’d started to fall. He must have pulled you back and turned so that he would hit the ground instead, and you would fall safely on him.  
  
“Takao-kun! Are you alright?! I’m so sorry!” You cry out loud, as you feel tears coming to your eyes again. Takao gives a wheezy laugh, clearly a bit winded, but grins impishly at you. His hand, which was holding your head protectively against his chest, drops down to rest on your shoulders comfortably.  
  
“See? Toldya’ I wouldn’t let you touch the ground.” He chuckles, before coughing and taking a moment to catch his breath.  
  
He was right, not one part of your body had hit the ground. You breathe a long sigh of relief, grateful that he was unharmed.  
  
However, now that you’re no longer afraid that he’s hurt, you realise just what kind of position you’re in. With Takao’s strong arms still wrapped around your body, your chest is pushing into his, while your legs are tangled with his own from the fall. You already feel your cheeks turning a hot red when Takao raises his head to look down at you, and suddenly his face is only a few inches away from yours.  
  
You feel your heart start to beat faster, as you stare back at Takao anxiously. You notice that his cheeks are a bit red too, and his piercing blue eyes have narrowed slightly, watching you closely. He pulls his arms back from around you to support himself as he pulls his upper body up.  
  
Slowly, Takao moves his face towards yours…  
  
  
   
But before anything can happen, a sharp ringing sound echoes through the roof as the bell rings and startles you both, making you pull back from one another suddenly.  
  
“Ah! I-I’ll be late!” You cry out nervously as you push your hands down on Takao’s chest and raise your upper body away from him, arching your back. Honestly, being late isn’t something you’re really worried about, at least not right now, but you’re so embarrassed you feel like your cheeks are on fire and your heart is going to burst out of your chest. You need a little more time to calm yourself.  
  
Unfortunately, it looks like you’re not done being embarrassed just yet.  
  
“Heh, the other view was even better, but this one is pretty nice too~~” You hear Takao snickering just below you, and you look down at him. You quickly realise that with the way your body is positioned, his face is now right in front of your chest. He’s looking up at you and laughing again as you blush even harder.  
  
Desperately, you try to push your body up while frantically trying to untangle your legs from him. Unfortunately Takao tries to get up at the same time, and in surprise you end up falling back.  
  
Both of you completely freeze, eyes open wide in shock. In your urgency to get off of him, you ended up falling backwards, and your backside is now resting comfortably on his lower stomach.  
  
Takao looks down to where you’re sitting, and then back up to you with a slack-jawed expression. “Are—-Are you doing this on purpose?!” He asks you, bursting out into laugher and falling back down onto the ground.  
  
“N—N-N—No! Of c—c-c-course not!!” You say, stammering desperately. “I—I—-I’m so sorry, I didn’t—-didn’t mean to—!”  
  
He leans back up, takes one look at you, and turns to the side as he covers his face. “I can’t handle it, you’re just too cute…” he snorts with muffled laugher for a few moments.  
  
His eyes dart back to you, almost tearing up from his laughter. “So…are you planning on staying there? Not that I really mind, but—-”  
  
“Oh! S-S-Sorry!” You stutter, as you quickly push yourself off of him, and stumble to your feet. You step to the side and hurriedly try to dust yourself off, while Takao sits up and quickly grabs the box of chocolates you gave him, placing it securely on his lap. When you turn around you see him with his chin resting on his palm as he looks up to you, trying to look calm and collected. He probably would have pulled it off if he wasn’t still shaking from trying to muffle his raucous laughter.  
  
You take a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down after being so thoroughly embarrassed, and you smile softly as you look back at him, though your cheeks are still practically on fire.  
  
“You really are a very fun person to spend time with, Takao-kun. I’m so glad I met you today, and I really want to meet up with you again!” You tell him cheerfully, your hands clasped in front of you as you give him a quick bow.  
  
“Ha! I enjoyed spending time with you too.” Takao chuckles. “And I’m glad to see you’re smiling face. It’s much prettier than your sad one.” He teases you good-naturedly.  
  
You blush and give him a quick nod in thanks, before turning around and running towards the door. However you skid to a stop just in front of it, and turn back to him.  
  
“Takao-kun, I still really want to learn how to do a backflip! Let’s try again sometime!”  
  
Takao freezes, his eyes wide in shock as he looks back and you, and after a few moments of silence he bursts into laughter again.  
  
“Doesn’t matter if you’re doin’ this on purpose or not, you’re just too adorable.” He chortles. He notices you blushing even darker, and he waves his hand amiably as he calms down.  
  
“Heh, don’t worry about that. Anyways, I promise I’ll teach you how to do a back-flip. Maybe on some soft grass next time. And with a second spotter.” he snorts, winking at you playfully.  
  
“T—Thank you, Takao-kun! Have a good Valentine’s…rest of Valentine’s…have a good day!” You stumble, waving goodbye and spinning around quickly to hide your red face. Still hearing his chuckles behind you, you run through the roof door and head down the stairs.  
  
The moment you leave, Takao gives a long sigh, and smiles kindly as he looks down at the box of chocolates in his lap.  
  
“Boy, this sure came in handy.” He snickers, as he gently tosses the box into the air, catching it quickly. He opens the box and lets out another low whistle, impressed by the beautiful chocolates.  
  
“This was a pretty nice Valentine’s Day, but…” He pauses to toss a piece of chocolate behind him, and looking straight ahead he catches it easily.  He throws it back up and catches it again, this time in his mouth, looking back at the roof door you just ran through.  
  
“…I got a feeling the next one will be even better.”


	16. Cotton Candy - Momoi Satsuki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in honor of June being LGBT Pride Month, I’ve decided to publish my first story with a female love interest! As someone with friends under the LGBT banner, I really wanted to do something to celebrate this month which brings attention to LGBT accomplishments and rights. I tried to write the story so it could be viewed as a friendship or a romance story, depending on your personal preferences, so I hope everyone will enjoy it!

_“Wow, you look so beautiful today! Ah, we better have lunch with just us two today, or all the boys will bother us! And I made a bento for us to share~…Hmm? You’re suddenly not feeling well? Ah! Don’t worry, Nurse Momoi will definitely take care of you~”_

_\---_

__

“…I can’t believe they all got sick…”  
  
A high, feminine voice sounds from behind you, and you turn in surprise to see a beautiful girl with pink hair walking through the roof door, obviously upset. She’s looking down at a pink, heart-shaped box in her hand, a bit like the one in yours (except hers is decorated with bright ribbons and sparkles), when she looks up suddenly and her eyes meet yours.  
  
You both jump back in surprise, clearly not expecting one another. The girl frowns, clearly upset someone else is up here, when she wants to be alone. However, her sharp eyes quickly notice you crying, and her expression turns to one of concern.  
  
You turn away quickly, rubbing your eyes to try and hide your tears, when you hear soft footsteps behind you. You close your mouth in a tight line as the girl delicately sits beside you, putting the box in her hands down at the side.  
  
“Hi! My name is Momoi Satsuki. What’s yours?” Momoi says sweetly, smiling pleasantly beside you. You watch her warily from the side of your eyes, but reluctantly tell her your name.  
  
“Wahh what a pretty name~” She exclaims encouragingly, beaming. You don’t respond, and after a few moments her expression turns oddly sombre. Her pink eyes dart down to the box in your lap, and then back to your face. “Hey…are you crying over a guy?”  
  
You open your eyes wide in surprise, and awkwardly twist a strand of your hair around your finger before you slowly nod your head. As much as you don’t want to talk, she’s being very kind to you, and something tells you even if you didn’t answer any of her questions, she would know the answer.  
  
“I see…well, you and I are not so different, you know?” She says, smiling gently.  
  
“I doubt that.” You snort disdainfully at her words, staring at the ground.  
  
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Momoi asks indignantly, puffing out her cheeks in an annoyed pout.  
  
“Well…I mean, we’re as different as can be.” You explain, using a gentler tone now. After all, you weren’t trying to insult her. Far from it. You take a deep breath before you continue on.  
  
“You know…I actually knew who you were before you introduced yourself.” You speak up, making Momoi jump slightly in surprise. She watches you a bit warily, unsure of what you were about to say, and listens closely.  
  
“After all, you’re one of the most beautiful girls in school, and everyone knows you’re also incredibly intelligent as well. All the guys talk about how sexy and adorable you are and how you’d be the perfect girlfriend.” You sigh, as you hold your hands together tightly on your lap. “If they weren’t all terrified of your friend, the basketball-star Aomine-san, you’d have boys following you around like lovesick puppies twenty-four hours a day.”  
  
You pause for a moment, looking up at her shyly. Momoi is staring at you in total shock, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in disbelief. You blush, wondering if what you’re saying is that odd, but you go on anyways.  
  
“S—S—So, as much as I’d love to be equal to you, we’re not comparable at all. There’s no way any guy would reject you!” You finally finish, turning your gaze to the side, away from Momoi.  
  
For a few moments, there’s nothing but a deep, awkward silence on the rooftop, and you nervously fidget as you wonder how she’s going to react. To your surprise, you feel a hand being placed gently on yours.  
  
You look back to her in surprise to see Momoi smiling kindly at you. “That’s not true at all.” She whispers softly, as you stare at her in incredulity. You stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments, hers incredibly solemn, before she suddenly brightens up again.  
  
“Besides, you shouldn’t talk about me like I’m perfect! I mean, the reason I came up here in the first place is because I was really upset my homemade chocolates made everyone who tried them sick!” Momoi laughs, as she pulls her hand back from you. You stare at her, still incredibly confused, and Momoi takes that as an indication she should explain further.  
  
“Well, I wanted Dai-chan to try them before I gave it to Tetsu-kun—-the boy I love—-but he refused and ran off before I could catch him.” Momoi pauses to puff out her cheeks indignantly, before sighing and resting her head in her hands. “So I asked some other guys in my year, and they all agreed immediately, but when they tried it…every one of them got sick from how bad they were.”  
  
You quickly put your hands over your mouth to stifle your laughter, and you see Momoi pout again at your reaction, so you offer her a small smile.  
  
“Well, it makes me feel better to know you’re not perfect either.” You admit, giggling. Momoi can’t hold her annoyed expression for long, and she ends up laughing as well.  
  
Suddenly, Momoi scoots up close to you, so her chest is right up against your shoulder, and her face is close to yours. You’re surprised at the sudden contact, and Momoi takes the opportunity to lift the lid of the box in your lap and peek at the chocolates inside.  
  
“Wow…no way! They’re so pretty!” She gushes, pulling the cover off completely to admire them.  
  
You feel your face growing hot at her compliment, and you rub your head awkwardly as you look away.  
  
“T—Thank you, I’m glad you think so! Um…would you like to try one?” You offer her shyly, picking up the box and holding it out in front of her.  
  
Momoi beams cheerfully, and swiftly grabs a chocolate. She pops it in her mouth, and her eyes grow wide, practically sparkling with joy, as she grabs your free hand and squeezes it tightly.  
  
“Wow! They’re totally incredible! You’re amazing, (l/n)-chan!” Momoi exclaims enthusiastically. By now you’re blushing so hard you feel like your face is on fire. You look away, trying to ask modest as you mumble something about them really being nothing special. However, Momoi makes it clear she’ll have absolutely none of that, as she shakes her head stubbornly.  
  
“No, they’re really amazing! There’s absolutely no way any guy could reject these chocolates, unless he was a big idiot you shouldn’t care about anyways!” Momoi declares, and as you look back at her you see she’s staring at you resolutely. For a moment you just look at each other, before you both burst into laughter. Hearing Momoi say those words with such unwavering determination…it was amazing how much better it made you feel.  
  
It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of your heart, and you could finally breathe easily.  
  
After a few seconds, you both manage to calm yourself down, and you both take a deep breath. Afterwards, you realise Momoi is still holding your hand. It doesn’t escape your notice that they’re very warm, and soft.  
  
As you bashfully look back up at Momoi, you have to admit that you understand why she’s so greatly admired and renowned. She really was incredibly beautiful and sweet.  
  
Momoi tilts her head slightly, and you realise you’ve been staring for a bit too long. “Ah…um, would you like another chocolate? I…I have some chocolate covered fruits in there as well, if you’d like to try those.” You offer them to Momoi embarrassedly, looking away as you feel your cheeks heat up.  
  
Momoi nods happily, and looks down at the chocolates again, her eyes quickly scanning each one. It only takes a moment before she picks up a chocolate covered cherry, her eyes dancing excitedly.  
  
“My favourite! Hey, watch what I can do!” She says cheerfully, as she pops the whole thing into her mouth. You watch her curiously for a little while, seeing her mouth moving oddly, before she sticks her tongue out at you. On it is a cherry stem tied into a knot.  
  
She smiles as you burst out into laughter, so hard you fall back and have to hold yourself up with your hands.  
  
For all you thought you knew about her, Momoi was a very surprising person. And not just that…as you sit back up, you notice she’s looking at you with a very kind expression. You realise that because of Momoi, you stopped crying a long time ago. She really had comforted you.  
  
“That’s a really neat talent, Momoi-san! Let me try!” You laugh, as you grab another chocolate cherry from the box and pop it into your mouth. You try moving your mouth the way Momoi had, but after a few moments you end up coughing out the cherry stalk onto the floor of the roof, after nearly choking on it.  
  
After making sure you’re alright, it’s Momoi’s turn to laugh so hard she nearly falls back.  
  
The two of you spend the rest of the lunch period talking and laughing till tears come to your eyes. Unfortunately, all too soon a loud ring sounds across the roof, and you both whine disappointedly when you hear it, realising that lunch, and your time together, will soon be over. You look at each other and giggle at how you both had the same reaction. Even in this short amount of time, you’ve already become very good friends. You both stand up, dusting off your skirts.  
  
“Hey, (l/n)-chan…” Momoi speaks up suddenly, gently grabbing your hand. “I’m really glad I met you. Because of you, I feel much better about not being able to give my chocolates to Tetsu-kun.”  
  
You blink in surprise, and then smile brightly in return. “I’m happy I met you too, Momoi-san! And…I wanted to thank you. You made me completely forget about being rejected by the boy I like. Because of you, I was able to stop crying.” You say honestly. Looking down at the box in your hands, you make up your mind and hold the chocolate box out to her. Momoi looks down at it, eyes wide in surprise, before they look back into yours.  
  
“T—To thank you, I want to give the chocolates I made to give to the boy you like. I worked hard on them, and I—I’d be very happy if you could use them to make your Valentine’s Day really special!” You explain, eyes darting to the ground shyly. You feel her gently take the box from your hands.  
  
Momoi is quiet for a few seconds, so you timidly move your gaze upwards. To your surprise, Momoi’s cheeks are bright red, and she’s practically gawking at you. You blink confusedly, when she abruptly bows.  
  
“T—T—Thank you, (l/n)-chan! You—-You’re like a prince!” Momoi exclaims excitedly.  
  
You tilt your head, even more confused than before. “Um…wouldn’t that be a princess?” You inquire, scratching your head.  
  
Momoi nods enthusiastically. “Right! You’re…you’re a princely princess!” She declares.  
  
You stare at her in complete disbelief, now completely lost. You had absolutely no idea what in the world Momoi was talking about, and your expression clearly must have shown that because Momoi was blushing even harder and getting much more flustered. She grabs her chocolate box, the one she had originally brought in, and holds it tightly to her chest, alongside your smaller, darker box.  
  
“I—I’ll see you soon, (l/n)-chan! We’ll eat lunch together again!” She cries out behind her, running towards the door. “A—And I’ll make sure that guy regrets making you cry!”  
  
She quickly runs out of the door. You blink in surprise, before you begin to laugh again.  
  
“I really can’t wait to see you again, Momoi-chan!”  
  
 _Later…_  
You find out that the boy who rejected you was absent the rest of the week. Apparently, he’d gotten sick off of some terrible chocolates he’d accepted from a beautiful girl on Valentine’s Day.


	17. Sugar Glass - Himuro Tatsuya |White Day Sequel|

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some adult themes below!

“Wow! Himuro-kun, it’s absolutely beautiful! I love it!” You cry out joyfully, as you look down at your chest. The iridescent crystal of the necklace he’d just put on you rests lightly against your skin, sparkling in the sunlight.  
  
“I’m glad you think so, (l/n)-chan. I’m sorry it came so late though.” Himuro smiles gently, while you can’t help but laugh.  
  
After all, the reason he was so late was because he’d had to spend a good portion of the lunch period giving White Day gifts to all the other girls who had given him chocolates. And there had been _a lot_ of other girls.  
  
At first you’d been a little jealous…but when he told you he’d made sure to give them gifts as quickly as possible so he could spend as much time as possible with you, you’d immediately brightened up. And when he had presented you with a beautiful white crystal necklace, with a delicate silver chain similar to his, you’d been so ecstatic you forgot everything else.  
  
“Don’t worry about it at all, Himuro-kun! It was worth waiting for!” You smile brightly, as you look down at the beautiful necklace again. The back of your neck still tingled from where his fingertips brushed you as he put the necklace on you.  
  
“…Still, I should give you an extra gift to make up for being late.” You look up to see Himuro smiling kindly, but there’s something a bit odd about it…blinking in surprise, you realise there’s something mischievous about Himuro’s usually gentle expression.  
  
“On Valentine’s Day, you asked me to teach you to juggle, remember?” He speaks up suddenly, and you blush as you realise you must have been staring at his face for a bit too long.  
  
“Ah! Yes, of course I do! It happened right here, after all!” You nod enthusiastically. To give you your gift, Himuro had taken you up to the roof of the school, which (as it was White Day) was as empty as it had been on Valentine’s Day, when you’d first met and gotten close to Himuro. “Wait, does this mean that for my extra gift, you want too…?”  
  
“That’s right.” Himuro says pleasantly, as he pulls out three brightly coloured balls from his jacket pocket. “I’m going to teach you how to juggle.”  
  
You jump up and down in excitement, thanking him profusely as you eagerly take the balls from him.  
  
Himuro laughs, and begins to teach you how to juggle. He shows you how to move your hands, and how to throw the balls with just the right force. He’s very patient, and explains everything as many times as you need him to.  
  
Which is why it’s even more frustrating when, several minutes later, you still can’t get it right. If the balls aren’t falling off to the side, where Himuro effortlessly catches them and returns them to you, they fall on your head, where Himuro gently strokes your hair and asks if you’re alright (while quite obviously trying not to laugh).  
  
“I’m sorry Himuro-kun…” You sigh, as he catches a ball you’d accidently thrown above his head. “I…I just can’t get the hang of this!”  
  
“Don’t worry about it (l/n)-chan. You just need to learn the technique. Here…I have an idea.” Himuro sits down, and you blink in confusion before sitting down as well.  
  
“You’re too far away. You won’t be able to learn properly from there.” Himuro smirks, his eyes narrowing ominously as he looks down at you.  You’re surprised, since you’re less than a foot away from him, but you obediently scoot around so you’re right beside him, your legs just touching.  
  
Himuro sighs, and suddenly his arms wrap around your waist. Your face turns bright red as he picks you up, so easily it’s as if you’re as light as a feather to him, and smoothly drops you onto his lap.  
  
“H—H—Himuro-k—k—k—k un!” You stammer, your cheeks burning with embarrassment as you feel his well-built, muscular body practically surrounding yours.  
  
“This is much better, right? It’ll make it easier to teach you.” Himuro says politely. He seems completely unaffected by you sitting on his lap, while you’re still blushing like crazy. You’re too self-conscious to even speak, so Himuro takes the opportunity to gently put his hands under yours.  
  
“See? This way I can move your hands, until you learn to move them properly yourself.” He whispers in your ear, as he gently squeezes your hands in his large, powerful ones.  
  
You nod shyly, and you gently throw the balls in the air again. This time, Himuro’s hands move right under yours, making sure you catch and toss every ball. Although you were embarrassed at first, you have to admit that having Himuro’s hands guiding yours makes it much easier, and before you know it you’re juggling the balls all by yourself, Himuro’s hands resting gently on your knees.  
  
“See? You’re doing a fantastic job.” Himuro whispers gently, his lips brushing against your ear as he rests his head on your shoulder, making you jump slightly in surprise. You nearly drop a ball, but just barely manage to catch it and throw it back in the air.  
  
“Ah…but that’s not good, (l/n)-chan. You can’t get distracted when you’re juggling…no matter what.” He chuckles mischievously.  
  
“B—B—-But it’s really difficult when you get so close, Himuro-kun!” You stammer anxiously, as you try and focus on the balls in front of you.  
  
“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll help you not to get distracted by my presence anymore. Well, I’ll try, at least.” He murmurs into your ear sweetly.  
  
“H—How are you going to do that?” You whisper nervously, as your juggling gets more haphazard and disorganized. Your heart is beating hard against your chest, but when your eyes dart to the side, you see Himuro is nowhere near as frazzled as you are. In fact, by his deceptively sweet smile, it appears that he’s very much enjoying this, and your reactions.  
  
“Don’t worry about it, (l/n)-chan. Just keep your eyes on the balls, and don’t stop juggling until I tell you to stop.” He says kindly, as you reluctantly turn your eyes back to the orbs flying in front of you. It takes a few seconds, but soon you’re back to the ordered juggling rhythm you had before. In fact, you’re starting to relax, and your rapid heartbeat is slowing down…  
  
Well, until you feel his hands slowly moving up your thighs.  
  
They brush over your skirt gently, before Himuro puts his hands over your stomach, gently pulling up your blouse to run his hands over the sensitive bare skin of your stomach.  
  
You make a loud squeal of surprise as you fumble, nearly dropping the juggling balls, and you hear Himuro click his tongue disapprovingly behind you.  
  
“Hey…if you drop them, then I have to end the lesson. You don’t want that, do you?” He whispers softly, smirking as you shake your head obediently. Nervously, you go back to juggling, using all your powers of concentration to focus on juggling, as opposed to the gorgeous rogue behind you.  
  
Once again, the moment you get back into the rhythm, Himuro goes back to teasing you. His lips brush gently against the skin of your neck, before he begins to kiss it. At the same time, his hands are caressing the delicate skin in your stomach, and he sighs happily as he feels your muscles flexing instinctively under his touch.  
  
Your face his on fire again, and your heart is beating so hard you’re sure he can hear it, but you still concentrate as hard as you can to try and keep juggling. Himuro chuckles, murmuring something about your impressive resolve, before he kisses your neck, and then gently bites it.  
  
You gasp in surprise, when he suddenly runs his tongue over the bite, massaging it soothingly. “I’m sorry…did that hurt?” He whispers apologetically, although you can hear the mischievous tone in his voice and you know he’s loving this. In fact, sitting on his lap, you can say for certain that’s he’s definitely having fun playing with you like this.  
  
You can hear his breath speeding up, as his left hand moves up to grab your chin, harshly moving it to the side so he could kiss your lips. He kisses you hard, playfully biting at your lower lip, and you’re so distracted you don’t notice his other hand gently running down your leg. You gasp loudly with surprise as he slips his right hand under your skirt, and he immediately takes the opportunity to stick his tongue into your mouth.  
  
Of course, there’s no way to can concentrate like this. You hear the gentle sound of the juggling balls bouncing on the roof floor, as you grab his hips, your hands fisting in the fabric of his uniform pants.  
  
Suddenly he pulls away from you. “Hey…” He glares down at you harshly, making you cry out suddenly as his hands squeeze you tightly. “Didn’t you hear what I said before? You don’t stop until I tell you to…” He breaths deeply, baring his teeth at you angrily, while his right hand squeezes you harder, possessively. “Did you really just disobey me!?”  
  
Your cheeks are dark red, and your eyes are wide with excitement as you stare back at him. Panting, you struggle to say something, when a shrill sound echoes across the roof, surprising you both.  
  
“…Just as well. It’s time to go anyways.” Himuro says quietly, as he pulls his hands away from you. He appears to be perfectly calm again, in stark contrast to his furious aura a few moments ago, as he gently picks you up and puts you down at the side so he can stand up.  
  
You’re surprised for a few moments, but you quickly jump up.  
  
“W—Wait! Why…why were you doing that to m—” You start, only to be interrupted by him gently placing his left index finger over your lips. He smiles politely, a beautiful, innocent face, with eyes that burned with a dark desire.  
  
“When it comes to getting what I want…I won’t show any mercy. Even if it’s you.” He whispers sweetly. He laughs as he sees your face turn even redder then before. “Hmm…but just this once, I’ll give you a chance to calm down. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”  
  
And with that he turns and leaves, leaving you a blushing mess.  You’re stunned into silence for a little while, before you sigh woefully as you fan your face. Your fingers brush against the necklace he gave you, and you give a small smile.  
  
He may be a lot to handle…a very lot…but he was very kind and caring. And he no matter how many women chased him, he always made you feel special.  
  
“Well, it was certainly an interesting White Day…” You laugh, your cheeks still burning hot, as you begin picking up the balls from the roof floor.

\---  
  
Since you were so distracted, you hadn’t noticed that Himuro had left the roof with an irritated expression on his face, and the moment he stepped through the roof door he had to take a deep breath. Exhaling loudly in annoyance, he pulls his jacket off and ties it tightly around his waist.  
  
“It’ll have to do.” He sighs loudly, as he rests his hands on his hips. “…I may have gone a bit too far…I nearly lost control of myself. Still, it was worth it to see her excited face…” He smirks.  
  
Just then, you come bouncing out of the roof, cradling the juggling balls to your chest as you narrowly avoid running into Himuro.  
  
“Ah! S-S—Sorry!” You stammer, still not fully ‘recovered’. Himuro simply laughs good naturedly, putting his arm around you as he walks you towards the stairs. However, before you go down he suddenly stops, and leans down to whisper something in your ear.  
  
“I’ll have to give you another ‘lesson’… next time, we’ll do it in my room.”  
  
Your face turning bright red once again, you quickly shake your head. He pats you comfortingly, before heading down the stairs.


	18. Kopy Kat —- Kise Ryouta

_“Hey (f/n)cchi! You’re coming over later to tutor me right? I’m so excited!! Hmm? Your classmate wanted to meet you for something? Sucks to be him! (f/n)cchi is all mine~ Don’t worry, if he keeps bothering you, I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget~”_

A young man, tall and well-built even in his school uniform, with bright blonde hair shining in the noon sun, walks through the door. He pauses for a moment, looking around the roof apprehensively. He seems to look everywhere but right in front of him, and he breathes a sigh of relief and takes one step forward before his eyes land on you. Immediately, he freezes in place.

He looks uneasy, but he quickly puts on a friendly smile and waves pleasantly to you. He opens his mouth to say something, when he suddenly freezes again. His face takes on an odd, curious expression,  and he narrows his eyes at you.

You realise he’s trying to get a closer look at you, and you turn away as quickly as you can. You don’t know what he’s doing up here, but you don’t want to talk to him and you _definitely_ don’t want him to see you cry. You hastily try to wipe the tears still spilling from your eyes.

You want to speak, ask him politely if he could leave, or offer to leave the roof yourself…no, you couldn’t do that. The thought of walking down into the school itself, brimming with happy couples and your friends, who would immediately want to know what happened, made your stomach twist unpleasantly. Well, none of that really mattered, since you knew the moment you tried to say anything your voice would crack like a young boy’s, and there was no doubt he’d know you were crying.

So you stay silent, wondering if he’ll leave on his own, but of course he doesn’t. Soon, you hear loud footsteps approaching you from behind, and before you can even turn and look the handsome blonde student runs past your side and skids to a quick stop in front of you.

You stare up at him in total disbelief, and in response he just grins cheerfully. He seems to shine with charisma and charm, and you’re not sure if it’s comforting or off-putting. Possibly a little bit of both,

“Hi hi~ Why’s such a pretty girl spending her Valentine’s Day on the roof crying?” The boy says in a high, sing-song voice. He certainly doesn’t waste any time. “It’s practically a crime, you know?” He pouts cutely.

You can only blink at him in response. To be honest, you’re basically struck speechless. How exactly do you respond to a person like this?

As such, you’re a bit conflicted as to what to do. On one hand, you’re pretty sure you recognise this guy…and he’s the last person in the world you’d ever want to talk to about being rejected. But, on the other hand, he seems to have this odd air of…joy? Kindness? Well, whatever it is, it’s actually making you feel a little better. Your stomach isn’t twisting up anymore, and your heartbeat has calmed down a little.

And despite what a whimsical character he seems to be, his sharp, serious eyes are completely focused on you. The same beautiful, bright yellow as his hair, they seem to look right into you. You have no doubt that, however he may act, he is an extremely perceptive person. One you suspect has already figured everything out.

So why not. Still a little unsure, you tell him the story, occasionally pausing to sniff and wipe your face. You tell him about working hard and staying up all night to make these chocolates, and how you tried to give him to the boy you liked. But he took one look at them and immediately rejected them. And so here you were.

The moment you finish speaking you feel your eyes begin to water, so you turn your head down to wipe them away. That’s when you notice you still hadn’t put the lid back on the box of chocolates on your lap…when you look up, you see that Kise is staring at them with wide eyes, looking very surprised. Then, his eyes suddenly dart back up to yours. Feeling your heartbeat start to quicken, you swiftly turn your gaze away and put the lid tightly back on your box of chocolates.

You stay quiet for a few seconds, before you finally look at Kise from the corner of your eyes. To your surprise, he’s looking down at the ground completely, his hair completely covering his face so you can’t see his expression. Still…something about his air has changed, and though you don’t know quite what it is a shiver still runs down your spine.

Just then he looks up, his bright smile is back and as cheerful as ever, and it’s like nothing ever changed. With absolutely no hesitation he drops to the ground, sitting in front of you, and then unceremoniously scoots up close to you. You barely have time to register the fact your knees are touching his when he speaks up suddenly.

“Hey, tell me your name!” He exclaims brightly, leaning forward. He’s quite a bit taller than you so he seems to tower over you, but not in an intimidating or threatening way. Maybe this is why, despite your reluctance, you slowly tell him your name.

“Woooowww that’s such a pretty name! It really fits you, huh (l/n)-chan?” He grins happily.

“T—Thank you. Um…If I may ask…you wouldn’t happen to be Kise Ryouta, would you?” You feel your cheeks turn red as you look away from him. “The…basketball star and model?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah! So you know me?! You’ve seen me in games, or in magazines right?” He asks boisterously, practically bouncing in excitement.

“Oh…no, not really. But all the girls in school talk about you a lot, and whenever you walk by they start crying out and trying to give you stuff. It’s…it’s pretty hard not to know who you are…” You admit sheepishly.

Kise’s eyes are wide with surprise for a moment, before he bursts into laughter. He actually falls back from laughing so hard and has to quickly catch himself with his hands. His laughter is so genuine and joyful you can’t help but giggle a bit as well.

Finally, he calms down, and straightens back up as he smiles brightly at you. “I wasn’t expecting that…you’re a really honest girl, aren’t you (l/n)-chan? How cuuute~” he chuckles.

You feel your cheeks turning slightly red as you smile shyly. Just then, something occurs to you, and you look at Kise curiously.

“Um…Kise-san—-“

“Waaaahhhhh?! No way (l/n)-chan! Kise-san sounds so _stuffy_ and formal. Call me Kise-kun~”

“Ah…sure, Kise-kun. Um…if you don’t mind me asking…why are you up here? I mean, I know for a fact at least half the girls in school were planning to give you chocolate today, even if just obligation ones…” You inquire hesitantly.

Kise lets out a long sigh, as he leans back on his hands again. He looks down at you with a small smile, although it looks forced, and you both know it, so he lets his expression turn sombre.

“I had to come up here because I ended up filling my locker and all my bags with chocolate. I don’t have room to accept any more so if another girl tried to give me chocolates, I’d have to reject them.” Kise tilts his head slightly, looking off to the side. “…I don’t want to break a girl’s heart by rejecting her hard work, you know? So I came up here so I wouldn’t see anyone, and the girls can give their chocolates to another guy who can accept them. So it works out for everyone.”

 “That’s…that’s really thoughtful, Kise-kun.” You say, a bit surprised. Kise looks a little insulted, so you quickly clarify. “I mean, you’re such a popular guy! There has to be a lot of girls who like you…It’s really nice to see that you care so much about all of them and their feelings.”

Kise smiles sunnily, as he sits up abruptly and leans close to you. He grabs your hands, holding them in his, and now looks at you earnestly.

“I can’t always accept a girl’s confession…but I’d never reject their chocolates. Chocolates they worked hard on…that they put everything they could into making…” Kise says softly, before pulling away from you and turning his head to the side, his hair once again covering his eyes. “That’s why…I really can’t forgive the guy who rejected your chocolates…and left you here crying.”

Your eyes open wide in surprise as you realise that Kise actually looks really, really angry. With his incredibly cheery and outgoing personality, you’d never seen an expression like this on his face…serious and cold.

Just then, Kise notices you watching him, and immediately changes his expression. Upbeat and bubbly, just as usual. Except this time you could tell it wasn’t completely genuine.

“Hey (l/n)-chan, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” He says cheerfully, squeezing your hands gently. You hadn’t even realised he was still holding them. “I’ve never really noticed you before, but you seem like a really interesting person! I want to know more about you~”

You stare at him unsurely. Sometimes he’s exactly what you’d expect and other times he completely takes you by surprise. Like right now…his words seem genuine. He looks really and truly interested in you. And honestly, you want to know a bit more about him yourself.

So you nod, and start to tell him about yourself. Family, school, hobbies…you try to keep it basic, but he would enthusiastically ask you questions about everything, and you ended up talking more than you’d intended.

“So, Kise-kun…” You speak up quickly, the second there’s a lull in his questions. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself? I mean…I hear a lot about you, but I don’t know how much of it is true…”

“All the good things are!” He laughs. He then starts to talk about himself, and luckily he’s so eager to tell you everything you barely need to ask any questions at all. He even lets go of your hands at one point so he can gesture wildly. He tells you how he models, how he’s always the favourite at karaoke and gets invited to them so much he has his picture hung up in some places, his siblings…he pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, and you take the opportunity to ask him about basketball.

“Kise-kun, weren’t you part of the Generation of Miracles? The team of basketball prodigies?” You inquire curiously.

Somehow, Kise looks even more excited than before. Once again he’s practically bouncing up and down in joy. He then begins to talk to fast you can barely understand him…you hear a lot about someone named ‘Kurokocchi’. He also mentions an ‘Aominecchi’ quite a bit, but mostly he gushes over Kurokocchi. You’re still not able to make out a lot of what he’s saying, but his eyes are practically sparkling with joy so you just smile and let him go on.

“Kasamatsu-senpai gets mad when I talk about Kurokocchi too much but…oh! Right, Kasamatsu-senpai is my captain—for the Kaijou High team! He gets angry a lot, but—”

Suddenly, a loud ringing echoes across the roof. It takes you a few moments to realise that it’s the bell, meaning lunch is nearly over. You try to ignore the way your heart sinks in disappointment.

“…Ah…I ended up talking too much, and I didn’t get to learn about you as much as I liked…” Kise sighs, running a hand through his hair as his expression turns to one of embaressment. He really does look like he regrets not learning more, but he quickly cheers up.

“Why don’t we meet for lunch again?” Kise beams brightly. “I’m really curious to see if your bento making skills are as good as your chocolate making skills~”

You blink in surprise, and then start to laugh. He was certainly an interesting guy…and his warm personality had made you feel a lot better.

“Alright then! I’ll make you something special in return for talking with me. It’s a one-time offer though!” You finish in a mock stern voice, and Kise puffs out his cheek in disappointment. You can’t help but start to laugh again.

“Kise-kun, I really did have a great time speaking with you…but I should probably leave now. I can’t be late to class.” You say softly. Kise nods and gets up quickly so he can help you up as well. You try to ignore how strong his hand is as it pulls you to your feet effortlessly. You stand across from one another, and for a moment there’s an awkward silence. You realise Kise hasn’t let go of your hand yet.

“(L/n)-chan.” He speaks up suddenly. His voice is unexpectedly soft, and when you look up you see his expression is strangely gentle and affectionate.

“Before you go…you should give your chocolates to me.” He smiles sweetly, but his voice is completely serious.

“Ah…but, I thought you couldn’t accept any more chocolates?” You ask in surprise.

Kise lets go of your hand and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly as his other hand rests on his hip. “Well, yeah, but…” He looks at you shyly. “I’ll make a special exception for yours…even if I have to carry it home on my head!”

He mimics balancing something on his head, even waving his arms around to pretend to keep his balance. He has the most serious, concentrated expression you’ve ever seen on him, and you can’t help but burst into laughter again. You calm down to see Kise is smiling happily at you, before he suddenly turns sombre again.

“Your chocolates are really special. I can see all the hard work you put into making them…and I want them.” He says seriously. You look down at the ground in embarrassment, face bright red, and then you hear him mutter something under his breath…something about not wanting anyone else to have them? You look up in surprise and Kise immediately smiles brightly, as if he said nothing at all.

“Plllleeeaassse (l/n)-chaaaan?” Kise whines, taking your arm and shaking it urgently as he pleads.

“Alright, alright! Seriously, Kise-kun…” You laugh. His begging wasn’t necessary; there was no doubt in your mind what you should do.

You hold the chocolates out, bowing shyly, and take a deep breath. “Please enjoy these chocolates, Kise-kun. As thanks for comforting me.” You exclaim gratefully.

Kise takes it immediately, smiling brightly and practically bouncing in celebration. He looks down at you and opens his mouth to say something, but by now your heart is beating so fast you don’t know if you can handle what he says next.

“T—Thanks again, Kise-kun!” You cry out, before you turn and bolt to the door of the roof.

The moment the roof door swings shut behind you, Kise goes still and his expression turns unusually serious. He slowly opens the box, sharp eyes running over the chocolates inside it once more, and a small smile appears on his face. He begins to murmur softly.

“There’s no way I’m letting anyone else have these chocolates…or her.”


	19. Jawbreaker --- Aomine Daiki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! As a special treat, a new update!!! I hope you all enjoy, I worked very hard to get this to you (especially with all my midterms Q.Q). A big thank you to Bekki once more for reading over and betaing this!

_“Trying to change who people are is pointless…so forget that asshole, and get with someone better.  
_ __  


_…Tch! Me, obviously!”_  
 

 

 

 “…Unh?”  
  
You turn your head at the surprised grunt that sounds behind you, and feel your heart nearly stop as you stare with wide eyes at the tall, muscular male who had just entered the roof, and now stands only a few feet away from you. Your school’s famous (and infamous) basketball prodigy: Aomine Daiki.  
  
Wonderful. Not only had you just been rejected, but now one of the strongest, most talented guys in your school, the least likely to understand what you’re going through, was here to bear witness to it.  
  
Aomine sighs loudly, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks off to the side in annoyance.  
  
“Damn…and I really wanted to take a nap after dealing with all those idiots asking for Satsuki.” He grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.  
His eyes fix on you, narrowing slightly. “What are you do—Huh?”  
  
He stops suddenly, tilting his head slightly as he watches you closely. He takes a step forward, and you immediately turn away from him, raising your hands to your face as you desperately try to wipe away the tears still running down your cheeks before he notices. It’s pointless, of course.  
  
You hear him make a small grumble behind you. You’re hoping that maybe he’ll leave you to cry and stew in your own misery in peace, but when the sound of approaching footsteps reaches your ears you know that your hopes are in vain. Soon, you feel the warmth of the sunlight on your back disappear, and as you slowly open your eyes you can see a large shadow cast over you.  
  
“Shit! You don’t do things half-ass do you?”  
  
Aomine’s deep voice sounds from right above you, and you crane your neck upwards to look at him in surprise. At first you think he’s making fun of you, making a comment about how strongly you were reacting to your rejection. But then you realise his shocked expression is for something else, and his eyes are on the box of chocolates on your lap.  
  
“Those homemade?” He asks, eyes still locked on the treats in front of you.  
  
You’re so blown away, you’re speechless. All you can do is nod.  
  
“Damn.” He continues, looking impressed. Just as you’re warming up to him a little, he leans over further, one eyebrow quirking up as he examines you critically.  
  
“…Not bad.”  
  
You think he’s talking about your chocolate box still, and you’re about to thank him. And then you realise his eyes are now on you, not the box in your lap, and specifically, he’s actually staring down at your chest. He suddenly guesses your bra size out loud and, worst of all, he’s exactly right.  
  
You quickly slam the lid onto the box, and press it into your chest as you splutter angrily, leaping to your feet and turning to face him. You glare at him, and want to say something scathing in return, but it’s taking all you have not to start tearing up again, this time in anger.  
Seriously, what kind of asshole goes up to a crying girl and—and comments on her breasts?!  
  
“Woah.” Aomine says, stepping back as he raises his hand in a ‘I mean no harm’ gesture. “Wasn’t trying to insult you.”  
  
You glower at him suspiciously as you slowly loosen your tight hold on the box, letting it rest over your stomach now.  
  
“…So, you get rejected or something?” He asks, putting his hands back in his pockets as he watches you carefully. He looks wary that you’re going to hit him or, worse, start crying again.  
  
“No.” You glare at him. “Sitting on a roof alone crying like a pathetic child is how I celebrate my chocolates being accepted.” You hold up the box. “This is just a second one I made for fun.”  
  
Aomine raises his eyebrow, and then lets out a loud snort of laughter. “You’re pretty fiery. Surprised that guy got off the roof in one piece.” He gives you a smirk, watching you with an appreciative gaze, which to your frustration sends a pleasant shiver through your body.  
  
You glower at him for a few moments longer, before you let out a long exhale and your face falls. You see his do the same, as he looks at you in concern. You turn away, and drop your backside to the ground, holding the box on your lap again.  
  
“What does it matter?” You murmur under your breath. “I put all this effort into making these chocolates for him…and it was useless. I put everything I had in it and in the end it was all useless.”  
  
Your hands, gripping the box tightly, start to shake as tears begin to flow from your eyes again. All your hard work had amounted to nothing—nothing but a broken heart.  
  
“S—Shit…” You whisper, sniffing loudly, as your throat starts to turn dry and painful, throbbing sorely as you struggle to hold back choked sobs.  
  
For a few moments, only the sound of your muffled cries can be heard on the rooftop. Aomine is completely silent.  
  
Then, you hear him take a step forward.  
  
“Tch. Idiot.”  
  
He presses the palm of his large hand down against your head, firmly but gently. It’s warm, and strong.  
  
“No effort is useless.” He mutters. His voice, low and deep, makes a shiver run down your spine, and for a brief moment you go silent yourself.  
  
“Your hard work…did mean something. To someone.” His voice is so quiet now you could only just barely make out what he said. His hand suddenly lifts from your head, his fingertips just skimming your hair as he pulls them away. You look up at him, confused, and you see him looking away from you. His skin is dark, so it’s a bit hard to tell but…isn’t his face a bit red?  
  
Watching him uncertainly, he abruptly starts to scratch his stomach, and your eyes can’t help but note how his shirt rides up and shows a flash of well-toned abs. You feel your own face turn red and you avert your gaze quickly. You wipe the tears from your cheeks, and speak up.  
  
“W—What do you me—”  
  
“Mm. I want to nap.” He says suddenly, interrupting you. You turn back to him, eyes wide in surprise. He stares down at you, his expression blank as his eyes narrow, watching you closely.  
  
You’re not sure if he’s trying to comfort you or not—although in fairness, it seems like he’d wanted to take a nap since before he had even stepped onto the roof. Although you really didn’t want to leave and have to go back down into that school…  
  
“Hey…” He says, snapping you out of your thoughts. “You look pretty comfortable.”  
  
Your eyes open wide as he steps around you. You can only stare up at him in disbelief as he stands in front of you now, towering over you with his immense height.  
  
“I…I what?” You stammer, feeling your cheeks heat up further.  
  
He looks down at you, and then growls as he puts his hand over his forehead to block the sun shining into his eyes. “Oi. Hurry up and move that.” He points down to the box in your lap with his other hand impatiently.  
  
You look down at the box, and then back up to him. Was he actually serious?!  
  
“Tch. Nevermind.” He exhales loudly as he sits down on the ground right in front of you. Before you can stop him, he seizes the box from your grip easily. Then, he turns his huge body around and lies back, resting his head in your lap.  
  
He shifts his body around, obviously trying to get comfortable.  
  
“Spread your legs out more.” He demands, closing his eyes tightly.  
  
You pull your head back and stare at him in obvious incredulity. You weren’t used to being spoken to like that, and you had no idea how to respond. He opens his right eye a sliver, and then closes it as he lets out another long sigh.  
  
“…Please.” He adds with a grumble.  
  
He really was full of surprises. You have a feeling that he doesn’t say that word very often, and it was probably pretty momentous that he said it to you. Not to mention the fact that being annoyed with him had stopped you from crying…in a weird way, he actually had comforted you.  
  
So you slowly open your legs a bit more, giving his muscular body more room to spread out. He makes a grunt of approval as he shifts his body again. He puts the box on his chest, resting one hand on it and the other on his stomach.  
  
He only stays still for moment before he gets restless again, squeezing his eyes before opening them slightly again.  
  
The hand on his stomach suddenly rises, and in a moment you feel the calloused skin of his hand on your face, which is still soft and incredibly sensitive from crying. You feel goose bumps rising on your arms, and try to concentrate on anything but how good his rough hands feel on your skin. You can’t even speak, since you don’t know what embarrassing sounds will escape from your mouth if you open it.  
  
His hand gently pulls your head forward, making you bend down. He stops when your face is just hovering over his.  
  
“Good.” He says, looking up at you with a cocky smirk. His tongue darts out, running over his lower lip as he looks at you. Your face feels hot, and you can feel your heart beating so fast you’re almost positive he can hear it.  
  
“Is—Is that so?” You stammer, feeling your breathing speed up as well. You’re almost shaking, and you realise his hand is still on your face.  
  
“Yeah. You’re blocking the light great now.” He smirks, as he pulls his hand away from you. He moves it to the box instead, which he manages to open without even looking at. You’re still trying to calm down, but now you watch him curiously. He grabs a chocolate and pops it into his mouth, and you wait for his reaction. His face twists with annoyance and your face falls as you worry you may have made a mistake when making it.  
  
“Shit. This is really good.” He growls. “Can’t believe that asshole turned these down.” Snorting loudly, like an angry bull, he takes a deep breath. That’s when his expression turns blank, and you feel the muscles of his broad shoulders relax as he closes his eyes and pops another chocolate into his mouth.  
  
“Whatever. His loss.” He mutters under his breath. You’re still trying to process all of this, so you stay silent. He opens one eye, looking at you hovering over him, still staring down at him in disbelief. You part your lips slightly, like you do want to say something, but don’t know what.  
He chuckles, and lifts the hand he wasn’t using for eating your chocolates to the top of your head. Your eyes widen, and you open your mouth further, making a high-pitched, confused sound.  
  
“…Idiot. If you’re gonna look so disappointed I have no choice.” He murmurs, his hand entwining into your hair, gentle but strong.  
“And when you look so vulnerable I can’t control myself.” He growls, before pushing your head down and pressing your lips firmly against his.  
  
His mouth is hot and tastes like melted chocolate. He kisses you hard and passionately, his grip on your hair tightening as he pushes his lips against yours even more powerfully. You can barely think, as your mind swims in confusion and you can barely believe this is actually happening. Your body isn’t confused at all, however, and you can feel it heating up hotter than the sun still shining on your back.  
Then, he tries to push his thick, hot tongue into your mouth, and your eyes open wide at the pure gall.  Well, there’s only one way to respond to that.  
  
You do make sure not to bite his tongue too hard though, right before you pull your head back.  
  
Letting out a loud growl of displeasure, his hand only allows you to pull back enough so he can look you in the eyes.  
  
“Why’d you stop?!” He demands, looking at you harshly. You stare at him in disbelief. Did he actually _enjoy_ that? Next time you’d have to—Wait, next time?! What were you thinking?!  
  
He quirks an eyebrow, and gives you a cocky grin. “Or are you just afraid to get bitten back?” He chuckles, and you feel your face heat up even further.  
  
“You—You just tried to stick your tongue in my mouth! And—and you don’t even know my name!” You say harshly, glaring at him.  
  
His expression abruptly turns blank, and then he slightly turns his head. It’s only because you can see his lips moving that you’re able to make out what’s he’s saying under his breath: your name.  
  
You blink in surprise. He…knew your name? This entire time? But how? You’d never met him in person before. He looks back up to you, and exhales loudly.  
  
“I see you around.” He mutters.  
  
You really have no idea how to answer him. The idea that your school’s prodigy would know your name really is a big surprise.  
  
He points to himself, and you realise he wants you to return the sentiment.  
  
“…Aomine Daiki.” You whisper softly. You run your tongue over your lower lip, licking the chocolate still on your lips. You see him tense suddenly, gritting his teeth as he stares at you hungrily.  
  
“I see you around too.” You continue, gently biting your lip. Aomine looks like he’s in actual physical pain now, and you can’t help but appreciate the fact that, for the first time this lunch hour, you have the upper hand.  
  
Unfortunately, at that moment the bell rings, and you feel your stomach sink in disappointment as you realise your time with him is over.  
  
“…Shit. I didn’t get to nap at all.” Aomine grunts, as he releases his hand from your hair. “Not all bad though.” He continues, as he tosses a chocolate into his open mouth.  
  
You straighten up, running a hand to neaten your hair. He looks perfectly casual as he lays on your lap, throwing chocolate into the mouth that was just kissing you hard enough to make you melt exactly like that  chocolate. But his eyes, staring at you with a ferocious hunger, reveal that he wasn’t unaffected either.  
  
“…I should probably go.” You say softly, as you look down at the basketball player on your lap. Your gentle voice surprises him, and he looks up at you curiously. “Thanks for making me feel better.” You continue, after a brief pause.  
  
It was true. In his own very, very unique way, he…had really helped you.  
  
Aomine doesn’t say anything in return, so you start to move your body back, trying to squirm out from under him since he obviously has no intentions of getting off of you himself, when his non-chocolate hand suddenly strikes back and grabs your arm. You look down at him in confusion, and he watches you sternly for a few moments.  
  
“No such thing as a useless effort.” He says suddenly. “You worked hard. So be proud.”  
  
You stare at him with wide eyes, and for a moment there’s just silence. Finally, you realise there’s only one thing you can say.  
  
“Thank you…again.” You say quietly, and you give him a genuine smile of gratitude. He had a gruff way of speaking, but he managed to say the most important words. And those words, _his_ words, really did mean a lot to you.  
  
“…And if that asshole ever gets the balls to try and talk to you after this, you tell him I’ll kick his ass if he ever makes you cry again.” He finishes, releasing his grip on your arm. He lifts his head slightly, so you can squirm out from under him, and lays back on his free hand, while the other one continues funneling chocolate into his mouth. It seems like he is enjoying them a lot.  
  
You stand slowly, looking down at him. He truelly was amazing, and not just at basketball.  
  
“Happy Valentine’s, Aomine-san.” You say softly. He grunts in response, looking like he’s pretty committed to getting his nap at this point, classes be damned.  
  
You turn to leave, and just as you move to open the door…  
  
“I’ll see you around.” He says confidently, and you can practically hear the smirk in his voice. There’s something in his voice…a powerful assurance, like there was no possibility in the world that what he said wasn’t going to happen.  
  
And that it was definitely going to involve more than ‘seeing’.  
  
“…I look forward to it, Aomine-san.” You murmur softly in return, as you close the door behind you. Behind you, you can already hear his deep laughter.


End file.
